Mister Swanson
by SANDRA-5
Summary: After a drunken incident damages her music equipment, Beca has no other choice but to find a part-time job. When her search leads her to the Swanson family, she ends up in a dangerous and risky—not to mention illegal—situation with Jesse Swanson, the 17-year-old teenager that she was hired to "babysit." [AU]
1. Meet the Swansons

**I just recently found out that Skylar Astin is YOUNGER than Anna Kendrick! I was shocked at first, but then the idea for this story popped into my head (while I was watching **_**The Graduate**_**). Please note that this is an AU fic, and although I am going to try to stick to their personalities from the movie but some things will NEED TO BE different.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pitch Perfect**_** or **_**The Graduate**_**, its characters, or anything else that seems familiar. I also don't own **_**Titanium**_** by David Guetta. I do, however, own the plot/story and my OCs.**

* * *

Beca Mitchell pulled up outside of the fence of the Swanson household. From the looks of it, they were a wealthier family, having one of the bigger houses in the neighborhood. _It's on a hill for goodness sake!_ The house was a large 3-story, Victorian home with a deck wrapped around it leading to a separate four-car garage, the backyard—which included a pool & hot tub/spa, basketball court, tennis courts, etc.—and a trail disappearing into some wooded area behind their home and outside of the tall, white gates wrapped around their property. "Wow. What am I getting myself into?" was all Beca could say when she stepped out of her car and walked up to the front gate. She was already upset about having to get _another_ part-time job, aside from the radio station internship that she had signed up for at Barden. _This is all Amy's fault_. Beca couldn't help but grit her teeth as her mind thought back to how her roommate's _selfish_ actions led her here.

* * *

"_C'mon Flatbutt! Nothing's going to happen to your little DJ station. It's perfect for the party and I will take full responsibility if something happens to it. You know I won't let Australia take that fall!" (Amy, her new roommate, would not stop referring to herself as the sole representative of her native country. She was determined to "make Australia proud.") Beca was resolved not to let Fat Amy (she was still confused why Amy would give herself that name) get to her, because in only the first month of school, Amy already made her feel anxious enough in her presence after she heard numerous _interesting_ stories of her several boyfriends, dingoes in heat, aboriginals, and other stories she had finally been able to tune out._

At least she's not as bad as Stacie._ Beca thought back to the other Bella who would sometimes go off on tangents about her various sex-capades. She shuddered as she told Amy, "Dude, no. That place is going to be full of a capella nerds who can't hold down their liquor. I'm not gonna leave my MUSIC EQUIPMENT anywhere near that scene." She and Amy had been having the same discussion all week after they found out that Justin's computer and music equipment had been ruined at the last a capella party. She knew that her things would meet the same fate if she gave in to the pressure the Bellas were putting on her to let the aca-community use her music programs. "Look, sorry dude but do you know how expensive all of this was?! There's no way I'm risking it. Just tell the other Bellas NO."_

_Beca knew she was being overdramatic, but her music was the only constant _good_ she had left in her life. She had a sucky relationship with her father—since he left her and her mom and moved to another state, THEN forced her to go to college when all she wanted to do was move to LA and start paying her dues—and she had a respectful relationship with her mother. She _didn't _abandon her and raised Beca while working two jobs and going through a messy divorce, but even going through all of that, they never really did have that stereotypical "sentimental/best friends" relationship. Sure, she missed her mom sometimes, but she was in another state. She didn't have friends—_period_— and she only had the Bellas now _(not really)_ because Amy practically dragged her to the auditions and her dad bribed her to try one club before she was "allowed" to give up on college. She was going to have to tolerate these girls for a year in order to get to LA, and music made it easier when they were extra maddening. Music was her outlet for all her stress, frustrations, and anger against the world. She had to protect it like a baby._

_The Bellas, along with the other Barden a capella groups, threw several parties together _("for the groupies," according to the Trebles' leader, Bumper)_ to pass the time in between competitions and the annual riff-off. Beca was still confused why Aubrey, the uptight Bella leader, always forced them to go to these parties since she loathed the Treblemakers. She always relented, however, but when she arrived at the party last weekend, she expected it to die rather quickly without any music to accompany the drinking and talking. She was _partly_ surprised to see that Amy had gone behind her back and had removed her equipment from their dorm room. Beca was fuming by the time she made her way over to the source of the music, hearing that Amy was also playing her personal mixes! _

"_He- … hey Flatbutt! Now I know you've got that crazy, psycho-killer look in your eyes… but… um… they made me!" Amy cried out pointing to the other Bellas, who we're trying to hide behind one another._

"_Amy! You're MY roommate and I told you not to touch my stuff when we first moved in! UGH! I don't care who complains, I'm taking my stuff back," Beca yelled, loud enough for most of the groups to hear. As she made the move to grab her music, a couple of members of the High Notes were walking over with red cups in their hands. It all happened so fast that Beca didn't know who to punch first. The High Notes members were _clearly_ out of it, and as they tried to make their way over to the kegs, Trebles who were dancing too close bumped into them, knocking the High Notes to the ground and sending their red cups flying towards Beca's equipment, effectively drenching her and her laptop with alcohol, cutting off the music as her laptop sparked and sizzled dead. Before Beca could do any damage, Amy and the other Bellas _hesitantly_ dragged her away to the dorms and tried to salvage the equipment while talking Beca out of a murder spree. She eventually cooled down, but they couldn't recover her programs._

_Soon after, she swallowed her pride and went to her dad for a loan to replace her equipment and laptop for school, but he was stubborn and only gave her enough money for a laptop. After that, it took Beca a few days before she could even mutter a word or sound to the Bellas. The only helpful thing they managed to do was show her the Barden listings for student jobs._

* * *

She was surprised to see so many listings around Atlanta for babysitters/nannies and tutors. She wasn't a very dedicated student herself so she knew tutoring was out of the question, but she also wasn't sure she could stand being around loud and energetic, _perhaps crying_, children (_especially after I've been with the Bellas and Amy all day_). She finally found a pretty good job offer to drive around some pre-teens for a family that lived less than 25 minutes away from campus. She had already spoken to the woman of the house, Meryl Swanson, to set up an interview and to meet the rest of the family. She wasn't sure why Mrs. Swanson had insisted on having her meet the whole family, according to the job listing, she would pretty much only be spending time with two of the boys.

Beca dismissed her worry and finally walked up to the gate, pushing the call button on the security pad. She listened to the ringing until she heard a little boy's voice through the speaker. "HELLO?! Swanson house, Casey speaking! … OVER!" The little boy was practically shouting. Beca snickered a bit, until she heard something that resembled a fumble with the receiver and then a fall. Her eyebrows pulled down in concern until she heard more fumbling and the little boy reassure someone around him, "I'm okay! … Sorry for the holdup. Are you the new nanny? … Over."

"Um yea… well I mean I'm here to interview for the job. How do you know that? I haven't said anything," Beca replied. As she waited for a response, she saw a little hidden camera in the trees, and then it moved slowly from right to left and back again. "Uh… never mind. I see the camera now. Um, I'm Beca and I'm here to talk to your mom. Can you, like, open the gate?"

"You need to say over! … Over." _Wow, was this kid serious?_ "And did you see the camera move?! I did that! … Oh yeah, sorry but I don't know how to open the gate and… my mom's in the bathroom. Um… over." He sounded sort of nervous when he mentioned his mother. Beca got the feeling that maybe he wasn't supposed to be answering calls from the gate. _Great. I'm dealing with kids who don't even listen to their own mother. This just gets better and-_ "Wait! Let me ask my brother, he knows! …DEAN!" Beca finally heard the line go dead. She didn't know if she should stay put in front of the camera, or press the call button again. She waited to see if anything would happen, and she was about to give up and walk back to her car, when she heard a buzz and watched the gate begin to slowly open. "You can come in now. … Over."

"Thanks." Beca was relieved to hear that this interaction was over, and she would hopefully be able to talk to an _adult_. The alarm on her car chirped before she started making her way up the hill to the front door. Before she even reached the steps to climb onto the porch, the navy blue door swung open hard and out stepped a small boy with messy, dark chocolate-brown hair and equally dark eyes. She just stared at his face-splitting smile while she walked up to the door. "Hello? Are you… were you talking to me at the gate?" _Damn it. What was his name again?_

"Yeah, hi! I'm Casey, the youngest Swanson, and the funnest one too." Casey keeps up his huge grin and it's starting to make Beca's eyes hurt just watching him smile that wide. She notices that he seems really eager to meet his _potentially_ new babysitter, and she doesn't have the heart to discourage him so she returns a small smile back.

"Hi Casey, I'm Beca. I'm here to talk to your mom about the nanny job. Um, can you go get her for me?" Beca wasn't sure what the protocol was for a nanny interview so she just stood outside the door looking in at the foyer that opened up into a grand, marble staircase on the right and led to a several other doorways—the kitchen, dining room, living room, etc.—on the left . _It looks even bigger on the inside!_

Beca can feel Casey staring at her as she's gaping at the entrance of the house. "It's a lot to take in for new people. … Go ahead, take your time. I can wait," Casey says to her. "I just hope you won't react like this when you see the rest of the house. It just gets better!" Beca snaps out of her trance and narrows her eyes at the kid. _I've never seen a house that should belong on MTV Cribs, so excuse me if I can't help but stare. _She's trying to give him an intimidating glare that screams _don't mess with me_, but his smile and bright attitude doesn't falter under her gaze. She softens a bit at this boy's ability to stand his ground and just smirks at him instead. "Are you ready to come in?"

"Hmm… sure. I like you kid. You're okay," Beca reassures him. Casey just laughs lightly and reaches out to grab her hand. She stiffens for a second, remembering that no one's really held her hand _so innocently_ like this since she was younger, before her parent's divorce. Casey hasn't moved or pulled on her hand, though, to follow him and she's grateful, _but surprised_, that he gets that she's not used to other people's touch. Beca _clearly_ smiles at him and gives him a slight nod to let him know that he can lead her into the house. _Maybe this won't be so bad. Casey seems manageable; I just hope his brother is too. What did he say his other brother's name was again?_ "Hey Casey, what's your brother's name?"

Casey is pulling her in the direction of the doorway diagonal of the front door, leading to a giant kitchen, complete with state-of-the-art appliances, island/bar, and with double French doors tucked in the left corner heading to the veranda that faces the backyard. "Well I have two brothers," he says matter-of-factly before continuing, "Jesse and Dean. Dean's upstairs playing video games—you'll meet him later—but I should warn you, he's not a big people person so he may ignore you and act tough BUT that doesn't mean he's dangerous; just so we're clear." The careful, but reassuring tone he uses makes Beca nervous about meeting Dean. _He's just a kid, right? What harm could he do?_ "Oh yeah. I'm not supposed to tell you this—but since I like you (_oh wow. Already?_)—Dean scared off the last two sitters so don't let him get to you. Mom says he's been doing it to try to prove that he's too old for a babysitter so that's why you're the NANNY. Got it?" Beca's eyes widened a bit at that new information. _That was definitely not in the ad._

"Uh…yeah. Got it. Thanks." Beca shifts uncomfortably and decides to sit down on one of the stools at the bar, while she waits for Mrs. Swanson. _This might be more than I bargained for. There's got to be a better way to save enough money for my music equipment. _No matter how unsure she feels now, she kind of doesn't want to disappoint Casey, because he seems REALLY excited to see her, or maybe just anyone _new_ in general. She exhales and visibly relaxes when she hears what she thinks are high-heeled shoes on marble floor heading down the stairs and toward the kitchen. She stands up and straightens herself out just as a petite brunette with kind eyes comes through the doorway. Beca extends her hand and says, "Hello. You must be Mrs. Swanson, I'm Beca. I spoke to you on the phone about the nanny job." Compared to Mrs. Swanson's attire—a white blouse with a navy pencil skirt—she feels underdressed and a bit self-conscious.

"Please, Beca, call me Meryl. Mrs. Swanson is my mother-in-law." She gives Beca a genuine smile and Beca is briefly reminded of her own mother, and she slowly becomes more comfortable with Mrs. Swa-, I mean, Meryl. Meryl then turns to Casey and tells him, "Honey, do me a favor and go pry your brother away from his video game. I want him to meet Beca. Your dad and Jesse should be back from the dealership soon, so remind him to wash up for dinner." As Casey nods and waves goodbye to Beca, Meryl motions for Beca to sit with her at the small table in the kitchen. "Well, I'm sorry for the long wait Beca. I'm sure Casey kept you entertained while you waited?"

"Oh yes. He's very talkative. How old is he?"

"Casey turned 10 in August and Dean, my second-born, is 12. My oldest son, Jesse—you won't really have to interact much with him—he just turned 17 last week so he's getting his own car and he'll be an extra set of hands in case you need it. (_Okay, two kids is not a problem._) I hope the listing was clear enough. The job basically requires you to pick up Casey and Dean from school, every day, and either keep them company here until my husband and I arrive from work or drive them to an activity, if they have one for the day. I may ask you sometimes—if it's not too much trouble, I know you're a student first—for you to also bring them home from an activity. They are both so involved in sports and clubs that my husband and I don't have enough time to be everywhere; their schedules will _usually_ allow enough time for you to get both of them to their events on time, but if there is a scheduling conflict, Jesse will know ahead of time and will take one of the boys—most likely Dean." Beca laughed at that. She could tell that Meryl knew that her son could be a nightmare sometimes and if she wanted to keep a nanny, then limited contact with Dean seemed to be the best solution. _If he is as bad as Casey made him seem, then I don't mind. I can handle Casey by myself._ "Now I know that you may not remember all of that, but every week we write down each boy's schedule on the calendar hanging from the refrigerator so that will always be there as a reminder, with times and locations. … Wow. Even I feel overwhelmed at having to say all of that. Do you have any questions Beca? I hope I'm not overwhelming you."

"No. Of course not. I think I got it all. But… to be honest, I'm a little nervous now to meet Dean. Casey didn't make him out to sound as 'fun' as he claims to be himself."

"Oh, well, Casey probably let it slip that Dean's been having some problems with the past nannies, but Jesse's workload this year is lighter so if Dean gives you ANY trouble, please don't hesitate to ask Jesse for help and he can handle his younger brother." Beca wasn't sure how comfortable she would be asking the 17-year-old for help. _He'll probably be like most 17-year-olds: stuck in his own world, not bothering to care about anyone's problems but his own._ Beca just smiled at Meryl and sucked in a deep breath as she heard more feet coming down the stairs.

A taller version of Casey, but with lighter eyes, walked into the kitchen, past his mom and Beca and headed straight for the refrigerator. As soon as he grabbed what he wanted, he made his way over to the table, practically shoving her shoulder to get past her to the seat beside his mom. Once seated, he just kind of scowled at her, obviously protesting her presence. Beca knew he was outright trying to scare her off, but she needed this job and wasn't going to let a 12-year-old stand in the way of her saving enough money to replace her destroyed music equipment. She put on a brave face, and glared at him right back. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that Meryl was smiling and glancing between the two of them, not interrupting whatever tug of war, power stand-off they were in the middle of. Casey sat beside Beca and tried to help her by staring at his brother too, willing him with his eyes to blink or turn away. _Two against one. I can do this all day kid. _Dean didn't back down, however, and another few minutes passed before he finally gave in and looked away, defeated. Beca _brightly_ smiled to herself and high-fived Casey as Meryl simply laughed at her son's surrender. _I like these people. _"Now that that's out of the way… Dean, don't be rude and say hello to Beca."

"Hey," Dean grumbled.

"Don't feel bad dude. It takes a lot of practice to master a scowl for a stare-down."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I got something in my eye."

"Wow. Don't be that guy. You win some, you lose some."

Dean's mouth twitched up for a second, before returning to his signature scowl. _He's not so bad._ Before Dean could think of a reply, they all heard a jingle of keys and then the front door being opened. "Papa Swanson's home! … Where are those kids? … Mama! Mama Swanson!"

"Oh lord. I wonder who that could be?" Meryl smiled. "Beca you should meet my husband too." _Joy!_ Beca followed Meryl and the boys as they met up with an older, handsome man with Dean's eyes and short, wavy, light brown hair sticking up in all directions. He had a similar, kind expression as Meryl did and his eyes lit up when he saw his family. He hugged his sons and then embraced his wife while giving her a light kiss, ignoring his sons' "Ew!" and "Gross. Get a room" comments. Beca felt a little tug on her heart and a bit of jealousy at seeing this family; it's all she had hoped for when she was younger, before her father left. "Behave, we have a guest," Meryl warned her husband. "Beca, this is my husband Berry."

"Nice to meet you," Beca said while extending her hand to him.

"Well hello there. You're the new BABYSITTER?" Mr. Swanson emphasized as he took Beca's hand and smirked at Dean. "Good luck with this one right here," he advised, pointing to Dean, "he's a ballbuster."

Beca's jaw dropped at his bluntness and then smiled when Dean turned around and stuck his tongue out at his dad, but then shrugged it off. _This family is pretty cool._ "Yes, thank you. I've been forewarned by both Casey and Mrs. Swanson." Meryl gave Beca a knowing look and she quickly amended, "I mean, Meryl. … But I'm hoping that after what happened in the kitchen, Dean won't be so quick to underestimate me, and we can call a truce?" Beca regarded Dean as he looked up in contemplation, with his index finger resting on his lips.

"HA!" Mr. Swanson laughed, "do I even want to know what happened in the kitchen?" Mr. Swanson looked down at his middle child, who just looked at Beca and muttered a quick "we'll see" before running back upstairs, Casey trailing close behind him.

"Bye Beca! I hope I see you soon," Casey called down to her.

"Bye Casey." Beca turned back to the Swansons and saw (proud?) smiles on both of their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing," Mr. Swanson said, revealing the same mega-watt smile that Casey had given her earlier. "Casey really likes you AND Dean didn't scare you off? Well you're kind of perfect… welcome to the family Beca!"

Beca giggled (yes giggled) at Mr. Swanson's comment and replied, "Thanks Mr. Swanson. I like the kids too."

"Oh, Beca," Mr. Swanson cried while clutching his chest as if in pain, "please don't make me feel so old. It's Berry!" he insisted.

"Yes Berry," Beca smiled. _Gosh, what is it about this family that's making me smile so much?!_

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to wash up before dinner. It was very nice to meet you Beca. If you stick around long enough, you should come over for a home-cooked meal, it would be a lot more fun for me AND Dean with you here," Berry smiled knowingly.

"It was nice to meet you too Berry. And we should run that idea by Dean and see his reaction first; I wouldn't want to miss it," Beca laughed.

"Definitely. Take care," Berry called before disappearing up the stairs. Beca didn't miss that he climbed all the way to the third floor, while the boys had remained on the second level. _This house is very interesting. I can't wait to explore it a bit. … Wait, I'm getting a little ahead of myself._

"Well Beca, you've made quite the impression on the Swansons—besides Jesse, of course, but you'll meet him in due time," Meryl mentioned, snapping Beca out of her thoughts.

_Oh yeah. There's another one._ "Speaking of which—if you don't mind me asking—where is he? I thought I remember you saying earlier that he was with his dad?"

"Oh yes! Like I said, he just turned 17 and he made some deal or bet with Berry, which my husband lost, _of course_, because they went out today and bought Jesse a new car AND he got to move into the apartment above the garage, which is separate from the house, so you may not see him for a while. He's very excited about not living under his parent's roof, and he's adamant about staying out there, unless it's for meals or family night." _Family night? Okay that shouldn't surprise me. This family just gives off that "matching sweaters, Christmas card" vibe._ "I can call him over, if you'd like to meet him before you leave?"

"No, that's really not necessary. Maybe some other time," Beca assures while making her way to the door, Meryl following behind her.

"So… can you start next week?"

Beca turns around abruptly, almost forgetting the reason she came to the Swanson house in the first place. "I got the job?!" As Meryl smiles warmly at her, Beca can't help herself and jumps forward and hugs Meryl tightly. She freezes and almost pulls away, until she feels Meryl hugging her back. She moves away after a moment, bowing her head and hiding her embarrassment. "Yes. I can start as soon as you need me."

"Great! Berry and Casey will be so happy to hear that… and Dean will warm up to the idea, but I will email you contact information for Berry, myself, and Jesse in case of emergencies, along with the address of the school and gate/alarm codes, everything you'll need to start," Meryl reminds her.

"Sounds great. I'll be on the lookout for the email. Thank you so much for the job!" Beca exclaims. _I can't believe I am actually kind of excited to start working for this family. … I was worried for no reason._

"No Beca, thank _you_. We'll see you soon," Meryl says as she closes the door.

Beca squeals a bit in excitement as she starts walking across the front lawn, headed back to her car. Before she gets any farther, she hears the light strain of music coming from above the garage and stops in her tracks. She squints and can just barely make out a figure through the windows, moving around in the apartment. She's surprised to recognize David Guetta's _Titanium_ as the volume increases. _Huh. At least this Jesse dude has good taste in music._ She continues walking down the hill to her car, listening to Sia's voice in the background, and softly singing along.

"_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim, fire away, fire away. You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium! You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium!"_

* * *

**AN: ****And this is just the beginning... thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!  
**


	2. Who's the Nanny?

**There were a couple of people who asked me about Beca's age in this fic, so just to be clear, it's Beca's first year at Barden (same as in the movie) so she's 19, making her two years older than Jesse (which **_**coincidentally**_** is the same age difference between Anna and Skylar!). I hope I didn't scare any of you too much with the summary and use of the word illegal (I'm not sure if I'm giving off the wrong idea? I might change it).**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pitch Perfect**_** or **_**The Graduate**_**, its characters, or anything else that seems familiar. I also don't own the Hulk, or any familiar lines, as well as any schools used in this chapter. I do, however, own the plot and my OCs.**

* * *

Jesse Swanson walked over to his surround sound system, which was set-up right under the windows that were facing the front lawn, and lowered the volume of the music. Turning around, he slowly scanned his new _bachelor pad_, appreciating the work he had done on the place in just a few days. The place wasn't bad—a small one bed/bath with full kitchen and separate living area—and definitely needed a bit of TLC, but he couldn't expect much, no one had really used the guest apartment—except for storage—since Julia left. _Julia…_ Jesse's face fell a bit as he thought back to his childhood nanny and best friend. It had only been a couple of months since she left but he missed her every day, even when he didn't let himself think of her. _It's been almost five months… maybe I could call- NO!_ He shook his head of those thoughts before they could lead anywhere; he didn't want to start feeling…_empty _again, especially since his parents had finally agreed to let him move into the apartment. He knows they were conflicted because of its connection to Julia, but what his parents didn't understand is that there were a lot more memories of her in that house than in the apartment, where she had actually lived. Jesse could already start to feel some memories flooding back, but before any could form, he balled up his hand into a fist and rammed it into the nearest solid surface (which just so happened to be the window).

Jesse simultaneously heard the crack in his knuckles as well as the breaking of the window, as pieces of glass fell on the floor. He didn't bother to turn when he heard the side door swing open, a voice yelling "What the- Jesse! Are you okay bro?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his younger brother staring at his bleeding hand, before running towards the kitchen to wet a small towel under the sink and bringing it to him, along with the first aid kit. "Dude… what the fuck?"

"HEY! Watch your language Dean!" Jesse scolded. Sure, he just lost his cool and punched a window—possibly breaking his hand in the process—but that didn't mean that he liked to hear his little brother cursing at him either. "Just… help me wrap my hand up AND DON'T TELL MOM."

"Okay… but are you gonna tell me 'why Jesse turn Hulk?'" Dean spoke, trying to imitate the Hulk's accent. Jesse smiled at his brother then; no matter how hard he tried to get his entire family into discovering the beauty of movies, he's only _partly_ succeeded with Dean. It's how they spent most of their time bonding: with a huge bowl of extra buttery popcorn and either an action movie ("ones where cars blow up" according to Dean), superhero movies, or a combination of the two (although Jesse was sure that nowadays, it was rare to find a movie where you had one without the other).

"'Jesse not strong to open window,'" Jesse imitated, before hissing at the antibiotic ointment being rubbed over the cuts on his hand.

"So you beat the shi-," Jesse cocked an eyebrow at his younger brother, "uh… I mean so 'Jesse smash' window?" Jesse nodded at his brother. "That's cool too. Dad would've helped but I guess 'Jesse not afraid to-' …ow!" Dean cleared his throat roughly. Speaking in his own voice again, "The Hulk is hard to keep up… how did Eric Bana do it?"

Jesse chuckled at his brother's attempt to keep up his Hulk accent. "Eric Bana wasn't the voice of the Hulk, Lou Ferrigno is," Jesse said matter-of-factly. Dean gave his brother an annoyed look, and then walked away muttering something under his breath. Jesse only caught the words "movie nerd" and "know-it-all" before he yelled out, "I'm full of fun facts!" Dean turned around and threw another wet towel at his head, moving further towards the side door.

"Wait!" Jesse exclaimed while wrapping the gauze around the knuckles of his right hand. "What did you come out here for? … You miss your brother already?" he asked in a baby voice. Dean's eyes saw red as Jesse's face broke out into a wide grin. Jesse knew his little brother hated whenever he used a baby voice with him because it always reminded them of the _one and only_ time that Jesse had heard Dean cooing at Casey when their baby brother was two. Dean may have only been four at the time, but it was a pretty unforgettable event that a 9-year-old Jesse was stubbornly never going to let go. They had agreed never to mention it to anyone—EVER—especially not to Casey, but Jesse found it useful when he wanted something from Dean, or you know, just for fun.

"Dinner's almost ready, ASS!" When Dean saw the look in Jesse's eyes, he bolted straight for the door, narrowly missing Jesse's hands as they stretched out to pull on his shirt and yank him back inside the apartment. The boys ran down the wooden stairs, hidden in back right corner outside of the garage. Jesse chased after his brother around the front lawn and onto the porch, until he finally caught a break when Dean stumbled over one of the chairs sticking out of the table on the veranda. He took the chance and lunged at Dean, tackling him to the floor.

Instead of wrestling with him and making him cry out for mercy like he intended, Jesse dropped his brother's arms and stood up straight when he heard his mother coming outside. "Honey, can you please set the table? I think we're going to eat outside today; it's a nice day." Jesse rushed inside and heard behind him, "DEAN! What are you doing on the ground? … Stop fooling around and go wash up for dinner…again." He tried to contain his laughter when he heard Dean's protests and "it was Jesse!" excuse that his mom would ignore until after dinner. Dean stormed past him through the kitchen, almost knocking Casey down as they passed each other in the doorway.

"What's his deal? … Hey Jesse! Guess who we met today?" Casey bounced with anticipation at Jesse's guesses.

"I don't know, Case, who?" Jesse was pretty sure he already knew the answer to his question, but the Swansons had all learned a long time ago that it was better to let Casey do most of the talking. He tended to bring the conversation back to himself anyways, so this way was just easier. Jesse smiles when his brother mimes zipping his mouth shut, silently asking him to make actual guesses. Jesse loves the eagerness and innocence his little brother possesses; as cliché as it sounds, he feels like Casey is one of the few, rare people in the world who whole-heartedly wears their heart on their sleeve (_in Casey's case, it's subconsciously_). It's what makes his baby brother seem so full of life, and why Jesse is always so protective when it comes to Casey's feelings. He plays along as he starts to notice Casey getting antsy, "Let's see. Who could it be? Hmm…"

"Okay, okay. I can tell you're having a hard time with this, so I'll give you a hint…it starts with a B!" Casey exclaims.

"Could it be… the new _b_abysitter?" Jesse asks, emphasizing the B.

"Nope," Casey mimics, popping his lips on the P.

"No?" Jesse's suddenly confused. He was sure he remembers his father mentioning that the girl they were interviewing to replace the last sitter was going to be at the house today. It was one of the reasons he had decided to head straight to the apartment, not wanting to meet the new sitter until he absolutely had to. Not only was he almost positive that Dean would scare her off like he had done with the previous three interviewees, but he wanted to avoid situations like the one he was in with Jul—I mean, _her_. "I don't know then. Who, Case?"

"BECA! Duh Jesse!" _Who the hell is Beca?_ "That's the new nanny's name. I tricked you, right?" Casey asked hopefully.

Jesse jokingly narrowed his eyes at his brother, "looks like you did Case. I'm gonna have to watch my back now."

Right as Jesse finishes his sentence, Berry comes up behind him and wraps him in a bear hug from behind and lifts him into the air. "AH! Jess, you're putting on a few pounds. You weren't this heavy the last time I hugged you," Berry laughed.

"Whoa! Dad! …" When Jesse's feet are firmly on the floor of the kitchen again, he turns around and frowns at his dad, "That's cause the last time you hugged me like that, I was Casey's age."

"Aw, don't make me sound like one of those fathers who never hugs their kids. I hug you all the time…um… wait, what's your name again?" Berry asks, snapping his fingers as if truly needing to recall Jesse's name, with a playful glint in his eye but he covers it with the trademark "Swanson smirk." "You should watch your back next time. … Weren't you just telling Casey that?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny, OLD MAN."

Jesse moves to the cupboards just as Meryl walks back into the kitchen. "Jesse! I asked you to set the table 10 minutes ago. I swear, if you boys didn't have me around, you'd never get anything done! … You'll all need to be on your best behavior when Beca comes over." _What did she say?!_

Dean walks back into the kitchen then and each Swanson grabs something to bring to the table outside. "Wait! She's coming to dinner?!" Jesse practically shouts in alarm. His parents both turn to look at him over their shoulders with confused (his father) and worried (his mother) looks. Jesse quickly clears his throat and tries to recover from his panic outburst, as they make their way out on the veranda. "Sorry, just… isn't it a little soon to be inviting the new babysi- —I mean nanny—to dinner?" Jesse corrects himself as he sees Dean's grimace from across the table.

"Well if you're so concerned, she's not coming to dinner _tonight_, but your father invited her dinner _sometime_ and she seemed happy to receive an invitation. Casey really liked her, and she stood her ground with Dean," Meryl said smiling at her two younger boys.

"That's where you guys are wrong!" Dean spoke up. "She may not have been scared off by my dirty looks, but she was pretty scary too. I'm surprised Casey didn't hide behind my back like a baby when he first saw her!" As Casey yelled out "hey!" in protest, Dean answered his parents' and Jesse's unanswered question, "Am I the only one who noticed the scary ear-spike and her tattoos?"

"No, Dean. I saw them but I'm not going to judge someone based on how they decide to express themselves," Meryl says warmly, looking towards her husband.

"Yeah kiddo. Have you forgotten that your dear-old dad has a few tattoos himself?" Berry begins to unbutton his collared shirt, and exposes some tattoos on his upper arms and chest. "I got some of these before I was even 18, WITH my parent's permission," he said looking at each of his boys in the eyes.

Meryl moves her hair behind her ears, showing her kids her various piercings. "And I have my ears pierced similar to Beca's. I just have studs, instead of spikes. Everyone's different."

"Yeah… she's scary different." Dean mutters mostly to himself.

Turning her attention back to her first-born, she continues her earlier conversation about their dinner invitation to Beca. "Is there another problem with us inviting Beca to dinner? …Besides the fact that she scares Dean." Meryl blows a kiss to her middle son as she passes bowl after bowl of food around the table to all her boys, eyeing Jesse carefully.

Jesse busies himself with getting enough food onto his plate while he thinks about what his mom asked. _Besides the fact that she's a complete stranger, and therefore still possibly a murderer_ (he's been watching too many horror movies late at night, he recognizes this)_, there's no logical reason to- … well I guess inviting her to dinner would give _everyone_ a chance to get to know her. But what normal college student would want to come to a stranger's home- … well, not complete strangers because she will be working and spending a lot of time here. But who wants to eat a home-cooked meal- … wait, that's stupid. It's free food; who turns down free food? Huh. … There's gotta be a reason why she shouldn't spend more time here than is absolutely necessary! … Wait a second._ "I don't see any reason why Beca shouldn't come over for dinner…_if_ she lasts. Just because she stood up to Dean today, _for an hour_, doesn't mean she'll be able to handle him all the time. I know I don't have to remind you both that the last two nannies—the ones who actually made it _past_ the interviews, like Beca—didn't last a month because of that 'little treasure' and his constant practical jokes." Dean smiled proudly at his "work" and ignored the sarcasm laced within the last part of that statement.

Meryl and Berry exchange nods of agreement before facing Dean at the same time. "Okay…here we go! I'm ready. Let's hear the warning/parental lecture you've repeated to me enough that I can recite it back to you by now," Dean sighs, obviously irritated at his parent's continued nagging attempts to make him "play nice" with the sitters.

"No, no. No lecture or warning this time, we promise. But… the rule about your pranks involving fire inside the house still stands," Meryl says giving her husband a quick worried glance. Jesse winced at the memory of his best friend, Benji—who is an amateur magician—teaching his younger brother some of his more _elaborate_ illusions. Dean had been so amazed that he begged Benji to teach him his tricks. Unfortunately, Dean didn't want to learn illusions to perform magic tricks—no—his brother used the skills he learned to play pranks on people, and they weren't always the funny kind. Because of one incident gone awry in the kitchen (involving FIRE), Benji was no longer allowed to bring his magic tricks over to their house OR to teach Dean anymore tricks._ Poor Benji._ Both of the boys had been upset: Benji cause he was an only child and genuinely liked Dean, and Dean was upset because he wanted to learn more "serious" tricks. Eventually it didn't matter to Dean to learn more tricks; he started experimenting with the ones he did know and succeeded in making them more dangerous, some more than he intended.

"Aw. Those are my favorite pranks," he pouted. "But at least you finally gave up on lectures!" Dean begins to snicker, but stops when his dad gives him a _love tap_ across the back of his head. "OW! You're killing brain cells! … I might need those one day."

As Jesse laughs at his brother's expense he turns back to his mom, disbelief in his eyes, "he's really not gonna get lectured this time? … Why?"

Meryl smiled confidently and responded, looking at both Dean and Jesse, "because…I think Beca's _different_. She wasn't afraid to step up and challenge Dean's stare-down earlier today, WHILE I was at the table with them. She's unaffected by his attempts to intimidate her; I kind of think she was humoring him today just for my sake. And Casey loved her! He even joined her trying to get Dean to back down. … I have a…call it a _hunch_, that Beca's going to be around for a while."

His parents grinned at each other, Casey was glowingly at the idea, and Dean frowned, but Jesse didn't miss the slight twitch on his brother's lips that almost looked like a smile. Jesse's curiosity was finally piqued. _Who is this girl? She's already made Dean half-smile and she was only here for an hour! … Well—whoever you are—I can't wait to meet you Beca._

* * *

_**A few days later…**_

_From: Meryl Swanson  
__To: Beca Mitchell  
__Sent: Saturday, November 3, 2012 12:55 PM  
__Subject: First Week!__  
_

_Hello Beca!  
__I hope you're having a nice weekend. We're all set for you to start on Monday. Here's the breakdown of the schedule for the week:__  
_

_**Monday, Wednesday, and Friday **__will be the same. Please pick up both boys from Pace Academy at 2:30 and 3, respectively. Casey is released earlier since he is in the lower school and Dean is in the middle school. Bring both boys home and make them a light snack. __**Friday **__will be a late night this week: Berry and I will be out until late evening. Could you please stay with the boys until Jesse arrives home?_

_**Tuesday **__is practice day for both boys. Pick up both boys at the usual time and bring them home. Make them light snacks, then drive Casey to Pace for tennis practice. Don't worry about Dean; Jesse will take him to basketball practice and will pick up both boys._

_**Thursday**__is game day for Dean. Usual pick up time for the boys, bring home, make a light snack, and take BOTH boys to Pace for Dean's basketball game. There will be an extra ticket on the refrigerator for you to enter the game with the boys; please stay with them until Jesse or I arrive._

_Please feel free to help yourself to food or the computer or television while you're babysitting the boys. My home is your home. Thanks again Beca! I will see you Monday.  
__-Meryl__  
_

_From: Beca Mitchell  
__To: Meryl Swanson  
__Subject: Re: First Week!__  
_

_Hi Meryl,  
__Yikes! You weren't kidding when you said they like to be involved. Thanks for the schedule. For Friday, I think I'm free so I can stay with the boys; it's no problem. Thanks again for the job and for welcoming me into your home. I will see you Monday.  
__-Beca__  
_

Beca's finger hovered over the send button on her email. She had been staring at her computer screen for over half an hour, not ready to send the email just yet. She wasn't sure why; she had already accepted the job and was looking forward to seeing the boys again, but something made her feel uneasy. She scanned the schedule for the week and mentally recited her school and radio station schedule…_no conflict. Hmm… _Then it hit her! Aubrey had just sent their Bella's rehearsal schedule in a mass email to them that morning. Scrolling through her emails, she found the email with the subject line reading "_Barden Bella's Schedule - TOP SECRET!_" Beca couldn't resist but roll her eyes at Aubrey's paranoia. _Who the hell would want the Bella's rehearsal schedule? And what would they do with it anyways? Lock them out of the auditorium? _She hoped so, but it was unlikely that even that would stop Aubrey from holding Bella's rehearsal. Beca clicked the email and their YEARLY schedule (_Is she insane? How did she already have the rest of the year planned out?_) popped up. She spotted the upcoming week's schedule and read:

**Monday**: 10AM-12PM in the auditorium

**Tuesday**: 9AM-11AM in the auditorium

**Wednesday**: 8 AM on the track field

**Thursday**: 9AM-12PM in the auditorium

**Friday**: No Practice. MANDATORY Bella meeting in abandoned pool. *Event*

Beca already felt exhausted reading through the schedule, but she was relieved to see that they had no practice on Friday. Beca was a bit confused to read that there was an event on Friday, but she was sure she could use work as an excuse to get out of it; it was probably another a capella party that she was IN NO WAY going to after the last one ended so tragically for her music equipment. _If this job gets me out of going to this "event," then I'm not complaining. They won't miss me being absent from _another_ a capella party._ With that final thought, Beca clicked send.

* * *

**AN: Early update! I'm really glad to have this up early, because t****his universe is taking over my mind and thoughts like all day. I'm super proud of myself because I've actually done my research on the Hulk, how to treat cuts/wounds, schools in Atlanta, etc. I also experimented a bit with Jesse's POV; it can't just be all about Beca all the time. Plus, I LOVE writing scenes with my OCs, they're like my babies. I even went so far as to map out their history on a timeline, SO obsessed! Sorry… I'm rambling.**

**Sadly, I HAD to end the chapter before her first day of work. I know it seems short compared to the first, but it felt right to end it there. Don't be upset with me! To make up for it, however, I have a gift, **_**"should you choose to accept it"**_**: I originally wrote a flashback about Jesse's history/connection with Julia in this chapter but removed it because I thought it would be too soon BUT if anyone wants to read a **_**preview**_**, leave me a review/PM and I'd be glad to give you a sneak peek! Thanks for reading!**


	3. The First Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pitch Perfect**_** or **_**The Graduate**_**, its characters, or anything else that seems familiar. But, I do own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

It's Beca's first day of babysitting for the Swansons and…she's late. Of course, it's not her fault; it's Aubrey's fault for making the Bellas run through their old, tired routine three more times (_as punishment_) for Amy's horizontal running, it's her philosophy professor's fault for making her class stay late until they could answer some stupid question—and she swears that after that, she'll never step one foot back into that classroom, it's Luke's fault for making her haul all those CD crates from the delivery truck because the other IDIOT intern is "out sick," but she—tiny with little arm strength compared to him—is apparently perfectly capable and it takes her over half an hour (it would've taken longer had the truck driver not taken pity on her and helped), and finally it's her car's stupid fault for needing gas. Even though she races over to the boys' school, almost getting into several accidents on the way, she arrives at 3:19, almost an hour late.

She drives into the main parking lot in front of the upper school and parks in the closest parking space she can find to the main building. Once parked, Beca steps out of her car into the warm breeze and starts walking up to the building that reads _Main Office_. As she gets to the door, she hears her name being called out, "BECA!" She turns around instantly when she recognizes Casey's voice and she sees him running over to her. Beca sighs in relief to see that at least one of the boys is still here, and by the looks of it not at all disappointed in her for being late. What she doesn't expect is for Casey to jump into her arms, hugging her. She hesitates for a second, before moving her arms around him and holding him up against her. "I'm so happy to see you! … We thought you weren't coming," Casey's tone is excited and gradually turns sad as he finishes his sentence.

"What? No. It's my bad; I got sidetracked with school stuff. Sorry I'm late. I hope you didn't think you were stuck here. … Um, where's your brother?" Casey loosened his hold on Beca, so she moved to put him down and looked up to see Dean sitting over at a bench in the front courtyard, talking animatedly with an older couple. She couldn't see the older boy because he had his back turned to her, but she got a full view of the busty blonde with her arms wrapped around the older boy's waist. Beca didn't want to interrupt Dean so instead she called his name out to get his attention, "Dean! I'm here to take you home. Let's go." She watched long enough to see Dean's frown at her arrival, but she turned to walk with Casey to her car and missed Jesse and the blonde girl turning to look at who was calling.

"Who was that?" the girl beside Jesse asked, curious and maybe a little annoyed. She looked at Jesse for an explanation, but he still had his gaze on the girl's retreating form. He noticed how Casey had grabbed her hand as they were walking towards the car, and how she pulled him into her side when a car passed by in front of them. She wasn't really tall; in fact, she was kind of short and small. He was sure that in a few years, Casey could even be taller than her, but that just made him smile more at her protectiveness of his younger brother. He broke his gaze when he felt the other girl nudge him in the side, "what are you staring at?"

"She's no one important. She's the _current_ nanny," Dean answered before Jesse had a chance to roll his eyes at the girl's obvious jealousy. "I guess she finally found time to come pick us up. … I'll see you at home," Dean nodded towards his brother.

"Hey Dean!" Jesse waited for his brother to turn around, and then reminded him, "mom and dad may not have given you a lecture, but be nice to her. Mom likes her a lot, so if you do anything, you're on your own." Dean frowned and looked a bit disappointed at his brother's acceptance of the new nanny but he acknowledged his warning anyways, and walked away muttering a serious "fine."

As he watched his brother walk away and climb into the white Honda Civic, he turned back towards the other girl, finding an annoyed look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"What was that about? You were completely stunned after you saw her."

Jesse sarcastically gasped in shock at her words, putting a hand over his mouth to complete the look. "Wow. Is Beth Smith… _jealous_? Of my younger brothers' nanny?" When she shook her head at his overdramatic sarcasm, he laughed and then reassured her, "you heard what Dean said; she's just the new nanny. I haven't met her yet so I was curious what she looked like, that's all. Don't be jealous babe."

Beth smiled at him, responding, "I don't get jealous, especially not with you since I know you would never cheat."

"Never say never, babe. I could be tempted by a sexy, _Mrs. Robinson_-type of girl after you leave me next year and go to college." Jesse was joking about cheating on his girlfriend of four months (he's just not that type of guy), but he seriously didn't know what he was going to do when she had to leave for college. Jesse should've seen it coming when he started dating a _senior_, but at the time it seemed like a good idea to have a relationship with an expiration date. Now, he kind of felt like he needed Beth, more so since he had moved into _Jul—_I mean_ her—_old apartment.

"Jesse! You're getting that 'lost in thought' look again, but now you just look depressed. … Look, let's not think about that now. We still have a little less than a year before I go to college, and who knows, maybe I'll stay close by." With a wink and smile, Beth pulled Jesse in the direction of the auditorium, postponing their conversation.

* * *

Beca pulled the car up to the gate, and placed it in park while she looked for her iPhone. "Okay, I wrote the gate code somewhere on my phone. Hold on a sec."

"You didn't memorize the code?! What if you can't find it and we're stuck outside!?" Dean panicked.

Beca couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, but she had the nagging feeling that he was trying to give her a hard time; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction after she had already been late to pick them up. "Don't be so dramatic kid. Casey and I will protect you if it gets dark; at least _he_ can handle it. Right?" she turned to Casey smiling.

"Yeah, Dean." Casey said, playing along. "Remember when I helped mom buy you that really cool nightlight cau-"

"SHUT UP CASEY!" Dean shot his brother a death glare when Casey turned to Beca and shook his head up and down to confirm his words.

Beca almost missed the part about the _nightlight_ because she had finally found the code on her phone. After Casey's confirmation, she tried her hardest to keep a straight face, but she couldn't piece together how Dean could act so tough and have had a nightlight at one point in his life (AND Casey had helped get it for him!). She couldn't keep up her straight face for long, and she burst out laughing, Casey joining in a little while later as he saw his brother turning red—from anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure. "Okay, that was mean. We should stop ganging up on you. Sorry Dean," Beca said, her laughter slowing down.

"Can we go inside our house now? … Please." Beca was surprised when Dean said please; she noticed how his attitude changed when he was on the opposite end of jokes, which is most likely why he always wanted to be the one dishing them out. She made a mental note to remember that the next time he tried to give her a hard time (_cause he will_).

"Yes we can." Beca typed in the code and the gates swung open. She drove up the hill and pulled into the garage, parking her car in the furthest spot on the right. She started walking towards the small door inside the garage—thinking it led outside—but when she pushed it open, she saw stairs leading up. _What the? This place is like an endless maze._

"Oh! That door goes to the apartment upstairs," Casey said hurriedly, walking over to Beca's side.

"Oh my bad. … This place is going to take time getting used to, isn't it?"

Beca looks down at Casey as he shakes his head no, but before he has a chance to say something, Dean interrupts. "Well you could just make it easier on _everyone_ and quit now," he says with a sarcastic, but hopeful smile.

Beca resists rolling her eyes at him, and starts walking around the car with Casey. As Dean makes his way towards the house ahead of them, Casey whispers to her, "he's upset. It's best to just ignore him."

Before Beca can ask why, she hears Dean slam the front door, making her jump at the loud bang. She then looks over at Casey for an explanation, but he just shrugs like it's an everyday occurrence. "They posted the roster for the basketball team today and he's a starter—thank God, because if he wasn't, we would NEVER hear the end of it—but he's not the point guard and that's the position he wanted."

"But at least he's playing right?" Beca asks, knowing almost nothing about basketball and its positions. "His game on Thursday…that's still happening right?"

Casey stops in his tracks and turns to her, his mouth in the shape of an O. "ARE YOU COMING TO THE GAME WITH US?!"

Beca laughs at his bouncing (_Or is he dancing?_) and just shakes her head at him, very amused. "Yes, dork! I'm coming to the game… BUT only to supervise you until your brother shows up and he'll take you and your brother home."

"OH! You still haven't met Jesse, right?" As Beca shakes her head no, Casey begins bragging about his older brother, "I think you're really going to like Jesse! That's who you saw with Dean at the school, you know?"

"Oh yeah?" Beca remembers seeing a tall, brunette boy with the blonde girl draped all over him, but she didn't get a good look at him. "Cool. I was wondering what Dean was doing with older looking students. What are they…seniors?"

"Jesse's a junior…and Beth is a senior." Beca didn't miss how Casey got a bit quieter when he talked about the blonde girl—Beth apparently. They walked into the house and heard loud sounds (_Is that gunshots?_) coming from the second floor. Casey was definitely getting better at reading Beca's mind, because without being prompted, he answered "he's probably taking his anger out on video games." _Better video games than me._ "C'mon! I'll give you a tour of the house _and_ I will make sure to give you enough time to stare at everything properly—so this might take a while." Casey smiled at Beca's narrowed eyes and then pulled her in the direction of the living room, the first doorway on their left, to start the tour.

* * *

The tour of the entire _property_ had taken the rest of the afternoon and part of the early evening, with Beca uttering "whoa!" or "are you kidding me?" in every room (as well as Casey's _secret_ hiding places and/or fun facts). During the tour, Dean had not let Beca and Casey into his room, they avoided the apartment above the garage, and Meryl had come home right before they were going to explore the trail and wooded area outside of the gates. Casey was obviously disappointed (Meryl pointed out that none of the boys were ever allowed to go into the woods—hence the gates), but Beca _quietly _promised him that they would explore it another time. Casey brightened at the idea and had practically demanded that Beca stay for dinner, and even though Meryl agreed, Beca had insisted that she needed to get going.

Tuesday and Wednesday involved more driving and snack-making for Beca, but time went by just as quickly. After Monday's tardiness, Beca had learned to start preparing for work earlier in the day (or even the night before) to avoid more tense moments with Dean's attitude. It seemed to have worked and Dean had even been in a good mood on Wednesday after he had learned that he might get to play point guard after all.

Beca didn't catch any more glimpses of Jesse when she picked up the boys from school or while she was at their house, but she knew that she would finally meet him on Thursday. Even so, Beca observed that as the day got closer, Casey would talk about his oldest brother more frequently and she would feel more uneasy at the idea of meeting him. She knew it wasn't a big deal, but Casey did not withhold the fact that Jesse, like Dean, had been against the hiring of a new nanny, and Beca became even more worried about keeping her job.

When Thursday had finally come, Beca—who was tossing and turning all night, then had to deal with Bella's rehearsal early in the morning—was relieved to know that most of her job for the day would be spent watching Dean's basketball game with Casey. Her shift at the station had been cancelled for the day, so she arrived early to pick up the boys. Casey and Dean were already waiting at the pickup location, and they quickly climbed into the car.

"HiBeca. Howwasyourday?" Casey spoke quickly, looking at Dean. The boys exchanged several looks, having a silent conversation between them until Beca noticeably cleared her throat. They both turned and looked at her at the same time, but remained quiet.

"Um… should I be worried? You both look like you have something to tell me, but it's obvious neither of you want to break it to me, so…CASEY, what is it?" Dean smirked at his younger brother and turned to watch Beca's reaction to the news.

"Well…" Casey avoided looking at Beca in the eyes and focused on playing with his fingers.  
"Jesse invited Beth to the basketball game tonight, but we only have one extra ticket." When Casey finally managed to look at Beca in the eyes, she looked confused (not angry or upset like he thought she would).

"Okay… why is this a big deal?" Beca asked, sincerely not understanding the problem.

"Jesse took the extra ticket this morning and gave it to Beth… and you HAVE TO come inside with me and Dean… soyouneedtobuyaticket."

Beca still didn't get why both boys were cautiously observing her and anticipating her reaction. _So I have to buy a ticket to a middle school basketball game? Big whoop. Why are they freaking out?_ "Dude, I still don't get why this is a big deal. I can buy a ticket; it's okay." When both Dean and Casey's jaws dropped, she finally lost it. "OH MY! What?! Is there something else that's making you both act like weirdos?"

"How much money does my mom pay you?" Dean asked genuinely interested.

"I haven't gotten paid yet. It's my first week. … Wait, why?" The boys' reactions finally made sense to her. _They go to a fancy private school, Casey was afraid I'd be upset or angry when he told me about the ticket, and Dean wants to know how much I get paid… _"Wow, I get it now. How much does a ticket cost?"

Casey shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and both boys braced themselves. "Um… about $45." It was Beca's turn for her jaw to drop. Casey quickly added, "Usually it's not that much money, but we have good seats and it's a qualifying game."

"Okay then." Beca tried to remain calm, and took a few deep breaths. _This job sucks. I'm spending money, instead of saving it._ "I'll just drop by the bank before we head back to Pace for the game." Beca drove the boys to their house and dropped them off while she headed to the bank to withdraw money for the ticket. When she got back, the boys were ready to go, with snacks, and they made their way back to Pace Academy.

When they arrived, Dean headed off into the locker rooms to get dressed for the game and meet up with his team. Casey followed Beca to the ticket booth to purchase another ticket. While they were standing in line, Casey reassured Beca, "I'm sure if you tell my mom that Jesse took the other ticket, she'll pay you back. He _knew_ that ticket was for you, so it's not fair!"

Beca smiled at Casey and said, "Oh no, don't worry about it. I'm kind of excited to watch Dean play—don't tell him I said that," she said pointing a finger at him, "—but he looks really happy to be point guard, and I'm sure this money goes to the athletic department or something to help the school so it's not all bad." _Although I'm sure this school has MORE THAN ENOUGH money to go around._

Beca bought her ticket and she and Casey made their way inside and found some great spots on the bleachers behind the Knights. They watched as the team made their way out of the locker rooms and towards the court. When Casey saw Dean, he stood up and waved the sign that they had brought, _hidden_, from Dean that read, "Go Dean! Knights #4 Point Guard" in Beca's handwriting. Dean shined when he saw the sign and raised two thumbs up towards them.

While the teams were warming up for the start of the game, Beca's phone started vibrating from her pocket. When she pulled it out, she saw the caller ID flashing: _Chloe_. Beca turned towards Casey and said, "Hey Casey, I need to answer my phone so I'm going to step outside, okay? Don't go anywhere." After Casey agreed, Beca walked down the bleachers, and stepped outside of the gym into a small courtyard. Beca answered, "Hey Chloe."

"Beca!" Chloe's voice was, as usual, loud and energetic. She moved the phone away from her ear before Chloe continued to talk. "I wasn't expecting you to answer during your 'work hours'—I actually expected to leave you a voicemail—but this is better." Chloe's tone at the end of her sentence sounded like she was trying to sound seductive over the phone.

_This is gonna get weird. _"Um…I'm not sure how to respond to that? But what's up?"

"Ha-ha! Beca you're so funny! I knew we we're gonna be fast friends!"

"Well…you saw me naked," Beca reminded the perky redhead. Besides Fat Amy's constant pestering, Beca had chosen to audition for the Barden Bellas because Chloe had intruded in on her shower—she just happened to be singing—and demanded that Beca try out for the Bellas. Truthfully, Beca was afraid that she would have more interruptions in the shower if she _didn't _try out so she was partly scared into it.

"I know, silly. But you should be pretty confident about _all of that_."

"Okay, this is weird. Why did you call me Chloe?"

Chloe giggled at Beca's discomfort before informing her, "Just a friendly reminder that instead of practice, we have a Bellas meeting at the abandoned pool at 6 PM tomorrow. We need to prep for an aca-event."

_Yes! _Trying to sound as casual, and NOT enthusiastic at all, Beca told Chloe, "Aw that really sucks dude, but I have work tomorrow at that time. I can't skip work, so you'll just have to tell Aubrey that I can't make it. … Darn."

Chloe was silent for a moment, then cried out, "YOU'RE KIDDING ME RIGHT?!"

"First of all, I am lowering the volume of this phone call because I'm gonna go deaf with your screams. And no, I'm not kidding. What's so important about _another_ a capella party?"

"Beca! It's not an a capella party, and you HAVE TO be there. It's the annual riff-off!"

"What the fuck is a riff-off?"

* * *

While Beca was outside on the phone, Jesse walked into the gym and saw that the game was barely going to begin. _Perfect timing! _He walked up to the bleachers, and stopped to look around for his youngest brother. He spotted Casey sitting alone, with a big poster reserving a space on his left. _Where's the nanny? _As he made his way over to his youngest brother, Casey spotted him and waved eagerly, smiling a little wider when he noticed Jesse was alone. "Hey Case."

"Hey Jesse! I thought you were gonna be late?"

"Well I was going to be late cause I was going to pick up Beth, but she bailed at the last minute," Jesse shrugged indifferently.

"Oh. Cool!" Jesse stared at his brother for a minute, wondering if he was happy because he wasn't late _or_ because Beth hadn't shown up. Casey wasn't very subtle about his disapproval of Beth, but Jesse let it go for the most part.

"So, where's the nanny?" Casey raised an eyebrow at Jesse, and he corrected himself, "I mean, where's Beca? She's supposed to be sitting with you."

Casey sighed at his brother's unfriendly tone, and glared at him, "she's right outside. She got a phone call and needed to answer it. Don't be so harsh!" Casey instantly turned away from his older brother.

Jesse had to do a double take when he heard his brother's defensive tone. _Wow, that's different._ "Case, I'm sorry." Casey didn't turn back towards him, so Jesse continued, "You're right. I'm being unfair and I haven't even met her yet. … If you like her, I like her."

With that, Casey looked at him again and smiled, "Good! I do like her."

Finally, both boys turned their attention to the game to watch Dean jump for the tip-off. When Dean gets the ball for the Knights, Casey and Jesse both cheer loudly for him. Both boys are watching the game in a comfortable silence, but Jesse keeps noticing Casey glancing towards the door, waiting for Beca, and Jesse is growing with anticipation. He really wants to get along with her for Casey's sake but he also worries about Casey's growing attachment to Beca (it's been less than a week, after all). To calm his worry, Jesse takes out a cherry lollipop and pops it in his mouth, as a distraction. Casey soon notices the lollipop and starts staring at him. Jesse pretends that he doesn't see Casey glaring at him, until Casey finally nudges him in the side and gives him the puppy dog look that Jesse taught him. Jesse laughs at his brother and tells him, "I don't have another one with me. I have a bag in the car though."

"Why do you have a whole bag?" Casey asks, both puzzled and excited.

"It's leftovers from Halloween. C'mon let's go get you one." Jesse stands up and moves the poster over their seats to keep them saved.

Casey smiles and moves to stand up too, but hesitates, looking over at the door to the courtyard again. "What about Beca?"

"Uh, we can get her one too," Jesse offers as a solution to his brother's worry.

"No. I mean, what if she comes back inside, and doesn't see me?" Casey looks genuinely worried about leaving without notifying Beca, so Jesse offers to help.

"How about I go outside and tell her you're coming with me and that we'll be right back?"

Casey relaxes a bit and tells Jesse, "okay. Um, she's wearing a black jacket and dark skinny jeans and has wavy, brown hair."

Jesse nods in understanding and walks outside to the courtyard. He sees a girl who matches Casey's description of Beca, talking on the phone with her back to him. She is pacing back and forth and speaking in a hushed tone, but suddenly she stops in her tracks and he hears her say "what the fuck is…" but he doesn't catch the rest of her sentence. Jesse feels uncomfortable interrupting what seems to be some sort of heated discussion, so he decides it is best to leave her alone and take the chance of leaving the gym. _She might be on the phone for a while longer. _

Casey jumps off the bleachers and runs over to Jesse as soon as he walks back inside, asking him several questions: "Did you see her? Did you tell her? What did she say?!"

"Calm down, Case. Everything's fine. Let's go get you a lollipop before Dean realizes we left." Knowing Dean's attitude (_more like superstition_) about people leaving in the middle of a game, they quickly rush out of the gym towards the front parking lot.

* * *

"Chloe, you can't just call me while I'm working and tell me that I have to go to a riff-off AND THEN not tell me what it is or why it's mandatory!" Beca was getting more irritated at the redhead's avoidance of explaining the riff-off tradition. No matter what she threatened, Beca couldn't get Chloe to reveal any more about it.

"That's what the meeting is about! Aubrey and I have to tell _all_ of the Bellas _together_! Just don't blow off the meeting. … Um, I have an idea, okay?" Chloe sounded nervous at the mention of her idea, but before Beca could ask her about it, Chloe hurriedly said, "Great! I'll text you tomorrow and we'll go over the plan! Have fun at the game. Okay, bye!" Beca started to protest, but all she heard was dead silence. _She hung up on me! Ugh, I'll deal with her and her _plan_ later._

As she finally made her way back inside, she looked over to the bleachers and noticed that Casey was gone. She quickly ran over to the empty space, poster lying on the seats, and looked around for him. _Where did he go?! I told him not to go anywhere! … I am so fired. _She gazed out toward the basketball court and locked eyes with Dean. He sent her a questioning look, but she just smiled reassuringly at him. Dean had already lectured her earlier that day about his "feelings" on leaving during the middle of a game, so she sat down and waited until his focus returned to the basketball. Just then, someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to face one of the other adults in the stands. "Are you looking for the boy who was sitting here?" Beca nodded quickly and almost shouted "yes!" but he quickly responded, "well he left with an older boy. They walked out of that door," the man finished pointing to the door they originally came through. _The parking lot?_

"Thank you!" Beca called over her shoulder as she discretely ran out of the gym towards the main parking lot. She didn't have to run very far before she saw Casey walking out of a nearby restroom, accompanied by an older boy with similar brown hair and eyes. Beca's first instinct was to run up to them, snatching Casey away from the other boy. "CASEY! I told you not to go anywhere! What were you thinking?!"

Casey looked up at the older boy with an angry look in his eyes. "You lied to me?!"

Beca looked between the two boys and then positioned herself between them, glaring at the older boy. "I don't know what you were trying to pull, but you better stay the hell away from us before I call the cops, or worse, before I _make you_ go away." Beca began to push Casey towards the gym (_where there are witnesses_), but the boy walked around her and stopped them.

"Whoa! I think you're getting the wrong idea! I know him," Jesse said pointing at Casey.

Beca stepped back, a confused expression forming on her face. She turned to face Casey and asked him, "Is that true?"

Casey looked at Jesse, anger still in his eyes, and decided to teach his brother a lesson. He turned towards Beca with the most innocent, but frightened expression on his face. He whispered to Beca, but still loud enough for Jesse to hear him, "He promised me candy and told me that you said it was okay to go with him. That's why we were going to his car just now."

Technically, Casey didn't lie to Beca, but since he didn't say he knew the older boy, Beca gasped in horror. "You tried to lure him away with the promise of _candy_?! … YOU PERVERT!" Beca screamed. She shoved Jesse in the chest and grabbed Casey's hand, ready to run from this boy.

Jesse's eyes widened in alarm, and he gaped at his brother. "CASEY! Tell her you know me!" He pleaded with his brother, but Casey just stared at him with the same angry look on his face. Jesse knew he was screwed if he didn't get this girl to believe him. _This must be the nanny!_ "WAIT! Are you Beca?"

Beca blinked at him in surprise, but she shook it off and pointedly ignored his question. With Casey at her side, she tried to walk away, again, but Jesse was persistent and stopped them _again_. "Look, _pedophile_, if you don't walk away now, I swear-"

Jesse held up his hands, as if in surrender, and hastily tried to explain, "This is a _huge _misunderstanding! I'M JESSE!" Jesse then reached for Casey to get him to confess the truth to Beca. Beca slapped his hand away, however, and swung at him. Jesse narrowly missed her punch, but she then kneed him in the groin. He fell down onto his knees and let out a whimper. "Casey," Jesse whispered in a high-pitched voice.

Casey finally broke his scowl and bent over laughing, holding his stomach. As Casey laughed hysterically and Jesse cried _manly_ tears, Beca registered his words. _"I'm Jesse." Who's Jesse? … OH. MY. GOD._ She didn't hesitate to grab Casey and cry, "Is this Jesse your brother?!" When Casey nodded shakily through his laughter, she felt the color drain from her face. "CASEY! How could you not tell me that?! Quick, go get him some ice from one of the referees or coaches. Hurry!"

Beca watched Jesse roll onto his back and pull his knees into his chest. He kept his eyes shut and looked like he was in pain. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know," Beca was horrified at what she had done to him. _I'm definitely getting fired now._

Casey came back with an ice pack, first aid kit, and one of the referees. After having Jesse sit back up against the closest wall, they handed him the ice pack and gave him some pills for the pain. Beca and Casey sat on the ground facing Jesse, waiting for him to completely recover from Beca's attack. Casey was still in awe about Beca's self-defense moves, but he apologized to both Beca and Jesse for not speaking up before things had escalated. They sat outside until Jesse was ready to stand up; once he did, he winced a bit at the pain, Beca apologized again, but they slowly made their way back into the gymnasium. They had been outside for over half of the game, but they come back inside with only 5 minutes left in halftime.

Once settled, they notice that the Knights are ahead by 12 points, and hope that with a win, Dean won't mind that they missed half of his game. While they wait in silence, Beca remembers that Beth was supposed to be there too. She turns to both boys and asks, "so where's Beth? I thought she was coming with you?"

"Shecouldn'tcome." Casey quickly changed the topic and pointed to the court, "Look, there's Dean again!"

Beca sent a questioning look to Jesse, but he just shook his head as if saying "don't ask" and turned towards the game. She spotted Dean too, walking behind his team with his shoulders slumped and eyes on the ground. _Uh oh. He looks upset. _Beca stood up suddenly and held up the sign, Casey and Jesse following her lead after a moment's hesitation, and all together they cheered for Dean and the Knights. Dean's head shot up and as he noticed his brothers and Beca standing there again, cheering him on, he sent them a grateful smile. Beca swore she could see his mode visibly lifting.

Once the second half starts, Beca remembers that she can leave now that Jesse has arrived. She looks over at Casey and Jesse, both focused on the game and their brother, with identical and _proud_ grins on their faces. _I can't sneak out without being noticed, and I don't think Casey would just _let me _leave. … And maybe I should stay to apologize to Dean for missing the first half of his game. … I'll stay. _Beca smiles to herself and can see Jesse glance at her in her peripheral vision, but when she turns to meet his gaze, he looks back to the court. _What a… weirdo._

* * *

The Knights win 46 to 20, with Dean scoring the last shot of the game. Beca, Jesse, and Casey waited for Dean outside of the gym and clapped and cheered for him as he made his way over to them. Dean had the brightest smile on his face that Beca had ever seen. The boys high-fived and Dean fist-bumped with Beca.

They are making their way over to the parking lot when Dean speaks up, "so where were you guys during the first half? You missed some pretty great shots and rebounds by _yours truly_."

Beca rolls her eyes at Dean's _humility_, and Jesse proceeds to tell Dean how he and Beca met. Throughout the story, Dean and Casey are laughing and teasing Jesse about being beat up by a girl.

When they get to Jesse's car, he responds "It was the ear spike; it threw me off," before his younger brothers jump into the car. Beca raises her eyebrows at Jesse, but he just laughs. "So what's your deal? Are you one of those girls who's all dark and mysterious, then she takes off her glasses and that amazingly scary ear spike and you realize that she was beautiful the whole time?"

Beca's taken aback by his forwardness, but she just smirks and corrects him, "Sorry, but I don't wear glasses."

Jesse's banter doesn't falter, though, and he adds, "then you're halfway there," with an honest smile.

Beca narrows her eyes at Jesse, hoping to make him uncomfortable or to get into his car, but he stands still in front of her, staring right back. "You're a weirdo," she tells him but Jesse just shrugs and keeps staring. _Is this dude serious? Is he trying to flirt with me? _Beca snorts at her thoughts and breaks eye contact with Jesse long enough to wave goodbye to Casey and Dean through the windows.

"Hey Beca!" Casey calls out as he rolls down the backseat window, "since _Beth_ couldn't make it and you had to pay for your ticket, Jesse can pay you back!" Casey smiles at his brother then turns to Beca and nods his head.

Beca turns towards Jesse and says, "He has a point. You owe me."

Jesse nodded in agreement then said, "It was nice, _and painful_, to meet you Beca." Jesse shyly smiles at her, revealing dimples that warm her heart and remind her of Casey's smile.

"Sure," Beca replies keeping a straight face.

Jesse laughs at her nonchalance and replies, "You'll warm up to me; just like you did with Casey. … It'll be fun, you'll see." He shrugs once again as he continues, "it's inevitable."

Beca rolls her eyes at his words, and walks away towards her car. As she pulls the door open, she takes one last glance back at Jesse and is surprised to see that he is still smiling in her direction. She bites her lip to hold her smile in, and moves to sit down in the driver's seat, turns on her car, and pulls out of the parking space. As she drives away and watches Jesse get smaller and smaller in her rearview mirror, she finally releases her lip and smiles. _Nerd._

* * *

**AN: They finally met! I know it was more than I expected! (This scenario is actually based off of my life!) I know I loved writing it. (Btw I know nothing about basketball and which players jump at the tip-off, but I wanted Dean to do it, so if the point guard isn't supposed to, just pretend for my sake!) Also, I apologize in advance if there is any confusion when it comes to tenses, they're my weakness when it comes to writing. I tried my best to fix them all while editing, but I started getting confused while re-reading this whole chapter. (I don't have an editor/beta person.) I'm also sorry if the ending feels rushed, maybe I'm being overly critical but this chapter is super longer than I expected, and I needed to end it.**

**Let me know what you think! As usual, thank you so much for reading.**


	4. Casey and Dean Take Barden

**I was asked an interesting question by **MissLiv **and I thought I'd make sure to clear it up for everyone: Julia was the Swanson boys' nanny throughout high school, but she moved away for her freshman year of College. She then transferred **_**back **_**to Atlanta and was rehired by the Swansons before her sophomore year. She babysat the Swanson boys up until the summer **_**before**_** her senior year. The beginning of this story starts at the end of the summer Julia left/beginning of school year that Beca goes to Barden.**

**As stated previously, it has only been about 5 months since Julia left the Swansons. Hope this clears up the timeline! If there's any more confusion, please ask! I love getting questions about the story. (Plus sometimes I ramble and reveal more than I should haha!)**

**BTW, during the riff off scene, lyrics are in regular bold.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pitch Perfect**_** or **_**The Graduate**_**, its characters, or anything else that seems familiar. I don't own **_**The Fast and the Furious**_**, either; I just own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

Jesse watched Beca's car fade away into the night. Even when he could no longer see the backlights, he stood staring in the same direction, mesmerized. A small smile on his lips, he replayed his first encounter with Beca, chuckling at their misunderstanding, and then snapped out of his thoughts when he remembered Casey had made him out to seem like a _pedophile_. He finally made his way into the driver's seat of his car, but before turning it on, he turned towards the backseat. Dean was bobbing his head to the music coming from his iPod and Casey was facing forward with his eyes closed.

Jesse sighed at his brother's antics. _Sometimes Casey can be pretty mature, but it's times like these when I remember he's actually 10-years-old. _Jesse reached over his seat, and poked Casey in the nose with his index finger, making a high-pitched "boop" sound with his mouth. He watched Casey subtly open one eye, and then close it just as fast when he saw Jesse staring. Jesse shook his head at his brother, but tried the same thing again. This time, Casey responded with a "beep" sound similar to Jesse's.

The boys kept up the pattern, neither breaking their game until Dean pulled out his earphones, annoyed by the _boop _and _beep _sounds. "REALLY?! Am I the only mature person in this car?!"

Casey and Jesse both laughed at their brother's outburst, but relented and "paused" their game until they got home, because as Jesse put it "Dean smells like armpits, and he'll stink up my car permanently if we don't get home soon."

On the drive home, Jesse wondered about Beca again. From what he noticed, she was as great as Casey described. Despite Dean's rejection, Beca hasn't stopped trying to win him over. _Or she hasn't stopped trying to get him to back off. Either way, she's doing more than any of the past nannies have done to keep the job. _He was happy to admit that he was wrong about her, but something about her still troubled him. Jesse knew Beca had caught him looking at her after they had gone back to the game, but he couldn't help it. Now, don't get him wrong—she's beautiful, ear spike and all, any guy could see that—but he was _staring _because she just looked so familiar, and he thought that if he looked at her long enough, he would realize how or why. He tossed theories around in his head, trying to come up with **any **explanation, but he was stumped. He frowned at this, but decided to save it for later when they turned onto their street.

He quickly drove up the hill, and parked his car in the same spot Beca had parked in earlier that week. As Dean and Casey jumped out of the car and headed towards the house, Jesse jogged towards Casey and grabbed his shoulders. "We need to talk," he whispered into his youngest brother's ear, before he spoke to Dean, "We'll be inside in a sec, just gotta talk to Case first." Dean nodded and went inside their house.

Casey turned towards Jesse, and quickly started rambling nervously, "What's up Jess? Is this about your injury? Cause I apologized AND Beca laughed it off. You should totally follow her lead on this; she's pretty smart. … Well she's in college, after all, so that speaks for itself. That's pretty cool, right? College? I can't wait to be older, and go to college, and have a car, and have some _real_ fun. Am I right?" Casey grinned so big, all of his teeth were visible.

Jesse smirked at his brother and shook his head lightly before asking, "Are you done?"

Casey pouted when his rambling wasn't enough to distract Jesse. He wasn't sure what Jesse wanted to talk about. In Casey's mind, there were several possibilities: his reaction to Beth's absence, not acknowledging Jesse as his brother at the game (until it was too late), dodging Beca's question about Beth, making Jesse responsible for paying Beca back for her ticket… He braced himself, ready to run for cover or cower if Jesse got mad. "Yeah," he said shakily.

Jesse motioned to the couch on the porch and he and Casey walked over and sat down. "So… that's not how I expected the game to go."

"Well you know how middle school games go? They're unpredictable." Casey tried to lighten the tension with some Swanson sense of humor, but Jesse just gave him an unimpressed look.

"Case, you know what I mean. … Look, I'm not going to argue with you about Beth—_again_—but I'm just going to remind you: you may not like her, but you have to be respectful when she is_ and_ _isn't _around." Jesse spoke to his brother in a quiet, stern tone. He hated lecturing his brothers—since he knew what it was like first-hand to be on the receiving end of a "_talk_"—but especially with Casey because it was usually so rare, _except _when it came to Beth or his previous girlfriends. _He was never like this with Julia, though._

Casey was upset. He didn't like disappointing people, especially Jesse (he idolized his older brother), but he knew Jesse hated arguing about Beth. "I know," Casey said, lowering his head to avoid his brother's gaze. "I don't _not _like Beth. She's nice…" Casey raised his head a little, noticing Jesse raising one eyebrow at him, disbelieving. "Okay so maybe I just haven't warmed up to her yet?"

"Casey, you warmed up to Beca within 5 minutes of meeting her." Jesse dared his brother to deny it, but Casey wouldn't because he knew it was true.

"Beca's different. She's cool. … You like her, right?" Casey smiled hopefully at his brother.

Jesse furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "Yeah, she's great. … Were you scared I wouldn't?"

"Maybe… I mean, out of the three of us, I'm the only one who says that I want Beca to stay. What if Mom and Dad take her job away because _you_ and Dean don't like her? … I missed Julia a lot when she left but I don't remember that much anymore; it makes me sad."

Jesse became tense, but he forced himself to concentrate on Casey's words and push the empty feelings away. He couldn't help but wonder if his brother had felt the same familiarity when it had come to Beca. "What does, um, Julia have to do with this?"

Casey looked shocked at his brother's words, as if Jesse was missing something obvious. "Beca reminds me of Julia," Casey said carefully.

Jesse was speechless. He opened his mouth to reply to his brother, but he didn't know what to say to him. _How does Beca remind him of Julia? … That's why Casey likes her so much? _

Before Jesse asked him any questions, Casey somehow read his mind and answered, "I'm surprised you didn't notice it when you saw her. … But I don't like Beca _because _she reminds me of Julia; I like Beca because she's really cool _and different_."

Casey seemed to be hinting at something, but he couldn't piece it together. Jesse ignored the hint (_that's another thing I need to figure out later_), and finally spoke up, "Okay… you like Beca—she reminds you of Julia, who you also liked—but Beth, her you don't like?"

"I know it's not my business, but since I'm very observant-" Jesse cut Casey off and muttered "more like nosy" but stopped talking when Casey poked him in the side for interrupting. "AS I WAS SAYING… I know you like Beth, but sometimes it seems like you don't like her as much as you say you do."

"What are you talking about?" Jesse questioned.

Casey exhaled slowly, and clearly explained, "Sometimes, it seems like you like Beth because you _have to_, not because you want to." When Jesse didn't respond to that, Casey continued, "and it's weird because I don't want to like her if you don't _really _like her, but then I don't get why she's your girlfriend?"

Jesse had no explanation for his youngest brother. He knew what Casey was trying to point out, what Jesse didn't want anyone to realize, not even himself. He lets himself admit it, in his head of course. _Beth is my—for lack of a better word—escape from her… from Julia. Being with Beth, it numbs me. I like her because she helps me forget; she's the complete opposite of Julia, the perfect change, distraction. I don't want to _use_ her, but how do I let go of the one thing that's keeping me from the emptiness? That's why I can't let her go. _Jesse mentally beats himself up and pats himself on the back for his confession. He wishes he could explain it to Casey, to let him know that he understand his hesitance with Beth, but it's too complicated and he isn't going to drag his little brother into his problems. Jesse shakes his head free of those thoughts and says, "Case… relationships are complicated. I think it's too much for you to understand right now but Beth and I are complicated. … That's why she didn't go to the game tonight."

"What do you mean? I thought you said she just didn't want to come at the last minute?"

Jesse shakes his head no. "No…well, yes but no. She told me she didn't want to come at the last minute, but it's not just because she changed her mind. … Things are just weird between us right now. … I'm sure it's just because of college stuff, it's stressful."

Casey nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything else. They both remained seated on the couch, the only lights coming from inside the house, the porch light, and the lights on the side of the garage illuminating the wooden stairs leading to the apartment. They stared up at the dark navy sky, staring at the few visible stars in a comfortable silence.

The peace and quiet was disturbed when the front door swung open and Meryl peeked outside and saw the boys. "Hey. What are you two doing sitting outside in the cold?" She walked closer to the couch, looking between her sons, Jesse shrugging and Casey still looking up at the sky. Meryl frowned and asked, "Is everything alright?" Both boys nodded, but Meryl wasn't convinced. She had the strange feeling that she had walked into an intense, but unfinished conversation. Not wanting to push the issue further, she smiled her usual warm, comforting smile and told the boys, "okay, well dinner's ready. Dean's setting the table and your dad's getting out of the shower now." Without another word, both boys followed her into the house to wash up for dinner.

* * *

Beca raced straight to the pickup location at Pace, arriving right at 3 PM, and honked the car horn to get the boys' attention. Dean and Casey jumped at the unusual greeting and ran over to the car when Beca motioned for them to hurry. As soon as they shut the doors, Beca shifted the car into drive and took off towards Barden.

"Whoa! Did you rob a bank and are running from the cops? Or are you channeling _The Fast and the Furious_? Either way, I don't think a Honda is the right car for that," Dean joked.

Beca laughed sarcastically but slowed down when she noticed the distressed look on Casey's face and the tight grip Dean had on his seatbelt. Okay, so maybe she didn't _have to_ be driving 45 MPH in a school zone but she was on a time crunch. Luke, the campus station manager, had changed her shift at the last minute, and this was her "lunch break." Unfortunately, she would have to bring the kids with her to Barden, and maybe even the mandatory Bella's meeting. "Don't make fun of my car; it gets us around. But sorry for speeding," Beca offered, and the boys relaxed only a little.

Seeing unfamiliar roads, Casey leaned forward in between the two front seats and asked Beca, "Where are we going?"

Beca shrugs casually before responding, "Change of plans for today." She cautiously glances over at Dean, who's now giving her his full attention. "I have to be at my school for a bit, but it shouldn't be more than a couple of hours." Beca braces herself for a tantrum or protests from the boys—Dean especially. In her peripheral vision, she can see Dean gaping at her, but Casey is smiling. _This is… strange._

"Cool! I've always wanted to see Barden!" Casey jumped in excitement.

"W- we're go- going t- to Ba- Barden?" Dean stuttered.

Casey and Beca's heads instantly turned, expressions puzzled. "Um… did you just stutter?" Beca asked.

Dean cleared his throat, but avoided eye contact. "Uh, why can't we just go home and wait instead?"

Beca groaned in response. She knew that Dean was going to put up a fight about this, but she had no other choice. She silently meditated for a few seconds and then calmly told Dean, "Please don't make this any harder than it has to be. I'm not exactly happy about this, either, but I'm in charge until your parents or Jesse get home and that won't be until late evening so I can't just leave you home alone. … I'm sorry, Dean." She turned to look at Dean, but he was facing forward with a gloomy look in his eyes. Beca had no idea why he appeared so pained at the mention of Barden. She desperately wanted to ask Dean, but she knew he wouldn't tell her voluntarily.

It's strange, but in just the first week alone, she connected with these boys better than she has with the Bellas. Casey is always so happy to see her and spend time with her; he's like the little brother she never had and he's very easy to like—maybe even love. Dean, though he had been more reluctant to accept Beca, is very… _real_: he's just as sarcastic as she is and doesn't bullshit or sugarcoat anything, but he is never disrespectful or hurtful. Sometimes—when the boys don't know it—she watches them closely, trying to figure them out because the more time she spends with them, Beca swears that she can see parts of herself in them. With Dean especially, they're more alike than either of them care to admit—which is probably why they act like they can't get along with each other for long. It's their similarities that help her understand Dean, because although she doesn't know why he's reacting this way, she does know not to push him.

They pull into Barden's residential parking near the dorms a few minutes before 3:30 PM. Beca turns the car off but doesn't get out of the car. Instead, she sits in silence and waits for Dean. She thinks that, whatever his reluctance is with Barden, they should take it at his pace. She glances between the time on her phone and Dean. Casey is getting restless in the back seat and Beca has to shoot him several "be patient" glares to keep him still. Finally, Dean glances over at Beca and meets her eyes for the first time. She has to hold in a gasp when she sees a flash of darkness in his eyes. _What is going on with this kid?_ They keep their eyes locked until Dean visibly relaxes and the tension is gone. He opens the door and steps outside of the car.

"So this is Barden?" Casey asks, sensing a change of subject is in need.

"Yup. This is where I go to school. I'm actually going to work at the radio station so I can get you guys some food and you can hang out in my room?" Beca looked at Dean more than Casey, but she knew Casey understood that his brother was uncomfortable here.

"Can we… can we go with you?" Dean asked.

Beca blinked in surprise. "Um, yea of course. … I just don't want you to be bored. I'm only an intern right now so I'm stacking CDs the whole time." She waited for Dean to change his mind but he just spaced off, again.

"That's fine with me," Dean nodded. He turned to Casey and his little brother shrugged too.

"Okay then. Let's get some food and we can walk over to the station together." Beca reached for Casey's hand, and began walking in the direction of the campus cafeteria. Dean kept surprising Beca, however, because he walked alongside her and Casey and even leaned into Beca a few times.

They made their way to the cafeteria and each boy got a tray full of food to take to the station with them. While Beca picked Luke's lunch, she and Casey kept things light and cracked a few jokes with Dean. At first, he completely ignored them and didn't voice any sarcastic retorts, but they slowly loosened him up.

By the time they walked into the station, they were laughing so hard that Beca spilled Luke's drink on the floor. When Luke noticed them, he lectured Beca on being professional in the workplace and that the station was not a day care, but he would allow the kids to stay. Beca was relieved that Luke kept to himself and that the other _idiot intern_ was not working at the time. She and the boys had the place to themselves mostly, and they quickly came up with a game to make the stacking (and time) go by faster. They had all forgotten the car ride over and were in their own world, when Chloe and Amy arrived at the station to pick up Beca for the mandatory Bella's meeting.

"Hey Flatbutt! How's the Jewish work going?" Fat Amy yelled to the second floor.

Beca—who had Casey on her shoulders trying to place a CD on a higher shelf—quickly shuffled the boy off and ran down the stairs to meet up with her roommate, "Amy! … Chloe! What are you guys doing here? And Amy I told you this isn't the DJ club you caught me at during the activities fair."

Amy mumbles "whateva" but Chloe answers Beca's question: "We're here to escort you to the meeting at the abandoned pool. … Aubrey sent us to make sure that you wouldn't try to bail." Chloe smiles guiltily as Beca rolls her eyes at the Bella's leader's antics. "She's super nervous about the riff off tonight."

Beca groans in response. "Wow, then we should've had this conversation at practice instead of waiting until 3 hours before the event! I don't know how she expects us to win like this."

"Beca, I've told you this already! It's tradition, and you know Aubrey is set on keeping tradition. Plus, the riff off isn't something you can plan; it's _in the moment_." Chloe smiles mysteriously and winks.

"Well at the _moment_, I'm still working. I'll show up at the meeting…maybe a bit late, but I'll be there," Beca shrugs unconvincingly.

"O no! Aubrey said if anyone's late, we're running laps. Roomie, I can't get away with my horizontal running in a pool, too much open space member?" Amy cornered Beca into a shelf and leaned in for dramatic effect.

"Dude, personal space! I'm off at 5:30 and I need to take my kids home." Beca's eyes widened as she said _my_ kids. _DID I JUST SAY THAT? _It sounded like her voice, but she felt like someone else had said that for her. Behind her, she heard Casey whisper—rather loudly—to Dean "did she say my?"

Chloe and Amy didn't miss the "whisper," but before Beca could stop them, they pushed past her and ran up the stairs to the second floor. It was Chloe who spotted Dean and Casey first. "Oh my gosh! They're so cute!"

"Why are you hiding midgets, Flatbutt?" Amy asked with a straight face.

"AMY! They're not midgets, I'm their babysi- nanny," Beca huffed.

"You're their baby's nanny? What?" Amy joked, the shadow of a smile on her face.

Beca rubbed her temples in an attempt to soothe her impending headache. "No, Amy. Remember the nanny job I told you about? I started this week… where do you think I've been all week?" Amy tilted her head in contemplation, and Beca knew her thoughts were going to go somewhere inappropriate, so she cut her off, "You know what? Never mind. Amy, Chloe… this is Dean and Casey." She introduced each boy and they both smiled at the girls and extended their hands. Chloe dismissed their hands and hugged each one, making Dean blush. Amy, on the other hand, squeezed them both in a bear hug and the boys laughed in surprise when she picked them up off the ground.

"Like wrestling an alligator and dingo simultaneously," Amy smirked.

They all looked at Amy in confusion but laughed it off. "Anyways, I need to take Dean and Casey home after work."

"Well this works perfectly with my _plan_. Why don't you just bring them along? They can meet the rest of the girls," Chloe exclaimed excitedly.

"_This_ was the plan you told me about yesterday? NO." Beca looked dead serious at this and ignored the boys' curious looks. "I can't bring them to the meeting, because I won't have enough time to take them home before the riff off, and they CAN'T stay for that," Beca responded, hoping to burst the redhead's plan.

Amy glanced between the redhead and brunette, eyes wide in anticipation for… something. "Aca-awkward… Beca, why don't you just ask the midgets?"

Beca opened her mouth to correct Amy, but she knew it was no use. She turned to the boys, biting her lips nervously. "What do you two _want _to do? I can take you home after work, and make sure your brother's home early enough so you won't be alone long… or… you can stay with me, I guess."

Dean and Casey traded looks then whispered into each other's ears for a few minutes. Dean nodded at his little brother then asked Beca, "Can I borrow your phone?" Beca frowned in confusion but nodded and gave Dean her phone. He grabbed it and typed out a quick message, then stood waiting. Beca's text message alert tone rang in the quiet and Dean and Casey huddled together to read the phone.

"What does it say?" the girls asked at once.

Dean handed the phone to Beca, keeping a straight face. She looked at her message screen:

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:27 PM  
__Jesse it's Dean, using Beca's phone. Um we're at her school  
__& Case and I want to stay. We won't be home until later though.  
__That okay? Parents aren't coming back until midnight, mom said.__  
_

_To: Beca (the nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012 5:30 PM  
__Why are you at Beca's school? How late is later?  
__And I don't have a problem with it as long as you guys are home  
__before parents. If she can't bring you home, I can pick you up?  
__Ask her.__  
_

Beca looked up at the boys, smiles meeting her gaze. She shook her head but smiled back. "I can definitely get you both home before midnight, if you want to stay." Dean and Casey high-fived, while Chloe cheered "yay" and Amy shouted "yes!" Seeing the time on her phone, she quickly typed out a text back to Jesse, as they all grabbed their stuff and started making their way to the abandoned pool.

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:37 PM  
__Hey Jesse it's Beca. Sorry for stealing your brothers today.  
__I had a major schedule conflict but they didn't mind. Hope it's  
__not a problem? Won't happen again!  
__Um I have this "event" tonight at 8 PM but I can bring the  
__boys home before 12AM. NBD.__  
_

_To: Beca (the nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:40 PM  
__No worries! Steal my brothers more often. Really, it's  
__encouraged :)  
__I'm curious about the "event" in quotes. Is this event a  
_"_college event"? ;)__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:43 PM  
__Dude no! Not that kind of "event". Kay I'm going to stop  
__using quotes now… it's a school club thing.__  
_

_To: Beca (the nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:44 PM  
__Oh now you've got my full attention! Which club? Goth club?  
__Self-defense club? "It's A Small World" Club? Lol__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:45 PM  
__Dude I don't need to be in a self-defense club to kick your  
__BALLS again! And WTF is "it's a small world"?__  
_

_To: Beca (the nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:46 PM  
__:O dfnijsbiufnadsiuncnfdilugndflknefdninsadoniudenyuq __  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:48 PM  
__Is your autocorrect off or something?__  
_

_To: Beca (the nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:50 PM  
__I'M SHOCKED! Have you NEVER been to Walt Disney World?__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:50 PM  
__Nope.__  
_

_To: Beca (the "fun deprived" nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:51 PM  
__Oh Beca. My heart goes out to you. :'( You've been deprived!__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson (crybaby)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:52 PM  
__Crying again, huh? Didn't even have to hit you this time.  
__Only nerds go to amusement parks.__  
_

_To: Beca (the "fun deprived" nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:53 PM  
__I'm not going to dignify that with a response.  
__We can talk about your lack of FUN when you bring my  
__brothers home.__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson (crybaby)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:55 PM  
__Sounds great. Can't wait.__  
_

_To: Beca (the "fun deprived" nanny)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:56 PM  
__Sarcasm won't save you now muahaha (evil laugh btw)__  
_

_To: Jesse Swanson (crybaby)  
__Nov 9, 2012, 5:57 PM  
__I got that.  
__Later__  
_

Beca finally put her phone away as they finished climbing down the ladders into the old pool. It felt like they were breaking and entering using ladders in order to get into the abandoned pool area, but apparently it was an a capella tradition. Dean and Casey—typical boys—were excited to climb down the ladders and even raced each other. Dean had won because "the rules don't say you can't jump from the ladder" but Casey didn't argue when he saw Aubrey storming over to them. Casey quickly hid behind Beca and Dean tried to climb back up the ladder before Amy stopped him.

Chloe walked ahead of them, attempting to intervene and calm the girl's anger. Amy pulled the boys around the arguing senior leaders to the rest of the Bellas while Beca waited for Aubrey and Chloe to approach her. She saw Aubrey take a few deep breaths, walk a few steps, stop, and repeat three times before she stood in front of Beca. "Beca… can you please explain why you brought _children _to our _Bellas_ meeting?"

"Both of my jobs were scheduled at the same time, so I had to bring them here. I wanted to take them home before the meeting, but someone" she looked over at Chloe who smiled innocently as Aubrey glared at her, "told me to bring them here and they wanted to come. They won't be a distraction… they're _good_ kids." Aubrey's eyes softened a bit at Beca's almost-maternal tone.

"Okay." Beca raised an eyebrow at Aubrey's short response. _That's it? Just "okay?" _She was expecting another one of Aubrey's usual "raised voice" lectures.

When the Bellas were all finally gathered, and introduced to Dean and Casey, Aubrey set out to explain the riff off, rules, categories, example songs, and finally mock-riff offs. The girls would easily get distracted—more so than usual—whenever Dean or Casey would ask questions, or want to help, or really if they made any noise at all. Aubrey would let the girls get off track for a while, and she even got distracted once!

After finishing their last mock-riff off, attention was back on the boys and Beca. "So you both must really like Beca to want to come to the riff off and support her?" asked Cynthia Rose, a Bella that was often caught staring at Stacie's… _everything_, which made Amy conclude that since "there's like 10 of us, that means that one of us is probably a lesbian."

Dean and Beca smirked at each other, but Casey told the girls, "Beca's the best! Dean and I didn't even know she was in an a capella group before today, and I asked her EVERYTHING." Beca smiled at the memory of their "20 Questions" game that turned into "Unlimited Questions from Casey" game.

"Yeah, I guess she's pretty cool," Dean added. Beca bit her lip hard to keep a smile from breaking out on her face. She knew Dean would come around, but she did expect more of a challenge. She thinks things with Dean started to get better after the basketball game, but that feels like years ago compared to their time today: the car ride, the cafeteria, the station, and now the Bellas meeting and the riff off.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she glanced at Casey and saw his eyes appearing glossy. She held out her hand to him and he took it, but didn't say anything. She was sure he wasn't sad, but she let it go for now. "Alright I think you've interrogated them enough, they'll probably never want to come back to see you nerds now."

"Oh Beca, stop being so overprotective," Stacie scolded.

"Yeah, Flatbutt. I think the little men like you Twig Bitches and my sexy fat ass, right?" All heads turned to the boys and they nodded happily.

Lilly suddenly spoke up—well if you could call it that since her voice was as quiet as a squeak, "Since you like your job and you don't have to quit after you've earned enough money for your music equipment AND you don't have to be so cranky during practice. … I sat on a baby once."

Dean, who was sitting the closest to her, wasn't used to her quiet words, "Excuse me, what did you say?"

Beca waved it off but Chloe jumped in and said, "Oh honey, don't worry about it. It takes time to understand Lilly." She turned to Lilly and leaned in right next to her mouth before asking her to repeat. "Oh! She just said that now Beca can finally forgive us for ruining her music equipment since she likes you guys so much!"

"What music equipment?" Dean asked interested.

"I had a bunch of mixing equipment when I came here. I make my own music kind of, just mix songs together. It's my thing," Beca answered casually.

"That's so cool!" Dean brightened. "Can I hear some of your music?"

"Someday," Beca promised. "I'll play my music for both of you, okay?" The Bellas simultaneously said "aww," but Beca just rolled her eyes.

"You guys are SO CUTE," Chloe gushed, "you should definitely keep the job, even AFTER you get the money to replace your equipment."

Beca turned to Chloe and whispered, "Dude!"

Casey sat up straighter and turned completely to face Beca, "what is she talking about?"

"It's nothing Casey, don't worry about it," Beca said hurriedly, too fast to be seen as casual.

"Doesn't sound like nothing?" Dean questioned.

Beca fidgeted nervously before clearing her throat. _I hate you, Chloe. _"It's nothing; trust me. We're stuck with each other for a while," Beca smiled reassuringly. Casey seemed to accept her explanation, but Dean looked at her in disbelief. She wanted to say something more—maybe even tell him the truth—but they all heard the chattering and noise of people coming into the pool and stepping onto the platform above, pulling in alcohol, along with a keg that she's not sure how it'll get down the ladder.

"Alright ladies," Aubrey grabs everyone's attention, "prepare to soften the beach."

* * *

As the a capella groups are called to the deep end of the pool, Beca helps Dean and Casey hop up onto the platform right next to the Bellas to watch the riff off comfortably. Beca starts to walk back to the group, but turns to smile when she hears Dean and Casey shout "good luck!" together.

"Thanks," Beca says walking backwards to the Bellas.

Suddenly, she hears Justin say, "Hit it!" The BU Harmonics, an a capella group that sings _a lot _of Madonna, create the alarm sound that signals the beginning of the riff off. The crowd cheers and turn to see Justin raising his hands and yelling, "Welcome to the riff off! Who's ready to get vocal?" The a capella groups cheer and Beca turns back to the boys and sees Dean laughing at the seriousness of a capella on this campus. Beca laughs along too and remains in the back, off to a side, closer to the boys.

Justin announces that "the winners get the greatest prize of all: the microphone used by Hoobastank when they rocked out at the Schneve Performing Arts Center!" He pulls out a remote and aims it at an empty space on the pool wall, "Let's see our first category…" The remote reflects a virtual wheel with the categories that Aubrey had mentioned during the meeting. It spins on the wall and eventually lands on _Ladies of the 80s_.

Beca frowns in disgust. _Really? Could they have picked a worse category? Who listens to the 80s anymore? _Fortunately, Aubrey already has a song and runs to the center, along with Bumper, but he is just a little faster.

The trebles start clapping and Bumper begins to sing _Mickey_. They even throw in a few dance moves as the entire group moves to the center.

**"Oh Mickey, you're so fine  
****You're so fine you blow my mind  
****Hey Mickey  
****Hey, hey  
****Hey Mickey****  
**

Beca's eyebrows shoot up in surprise at their energy and song choice. She's amused. _This is going to get interesting…_

**Oh Mickey you're so fine-"**

Just then, Baloney Barb from the BU Harmonics interrupts the Trebles with Madonna's _Like A Virgin_. (_Wow that reputation is real_.)

**"You're so fine, and you're mine**

The Trebles shake their head in annoyance, but Beca just stares in uncertainty. _This is… wow, this is really happening._

**I'll be yours till the end of time  
****Cause you make me feel  
****Yeah you make me feel shiny and new****  
**

Aubrey gets an idea and gathers the Bella's to let them know which song to back her up with. Beca faintly hears the song choice.

**Like a virgin, touched for the very first time  
****Like-"****  
**

Aubrey walks into the center and interrupts the BU Harmonics with _Hit Me With Your Best Shot_.

**"Like the one in me, that's okay  
****Let's see how you do it  
****Put up your dukes  
****Let's get down to it****  
**

The Bella's walk to the center of the deep end to back up Aubrey, but Beca stays close to the back. _Ugh, what am I even doing here?_

**Hit me with your best shot  
****Why don't you hit me with your best shot?****  
**

The Trebles are huddling together and thinking of songs to use to interrupt the Bella's, but it doesn't faze them.

**Hit me with your best shot  
****Fire away!"****  
**

The Bellas are interrupted by a girl from the High Notes, the fourth a capella group that—according to Chloe—are "not very motivated." She begins to sing an off-key rendition of another song that Beca can't even pinpoint.

Her group and some of the crowd laugh at the performance, but Justin shakes his head and stops her. "The negative side effects of medical marijuana, folks." He points to the girl, then yells, "you are… cut off!" This signals the elimination of the High Notes from the riff off. Justin walks back to his place on the side, and again points the remote at the empty wall. "Let's check out our next category."

Walking back to their spot opposite the Trebles, Beca starts to understand the way these riff offs work. She gets Chloe's attention and asks, "So we just pick any song that works?"

"Yeah," confirmed Chloe.

"…and you just go with it?" Chloe nods her head while Justin announces that the next category is _Songs About Sex_. Beca stays in the back, waiting to see what will happen next.

After Justin names the category, Aubrey looks stumped, while the crowds cheer in excitement. The Bellas' faces light up with different song ideas and almost miss the Trebles walking to the center with their song choice. Before they could start to sing, Cynthia Rose begins to sing _S&M_.

**"Na, na, na  
****C'mon  
****Na, na, na, na, na  
****C'mon, c'mon, c'mon****  
**

Cynthia Rose and Stacie take the lead with this song (_go figure_) and they end up grinding on each other and dancing seductively. Beca's not sure if it's a distraction technique for the Trebles, or something else, because Cynthia Rose seems to be getting excited.

**Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it  
****Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it  
****Sticks and stones may break my bones  
****But chains and whips excite me****  
**

Beca notices Stacie taunting Donald, a senior Treble, who isn't fazed by her.

**Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it  
****Sex-"****  
**

The Trebles interrupt them with _Let's Talk About Sex_, with Donald taking the lead and serenading Stacie right in front of the Bellas.

**"Sex, baby  
****Let's talk about you and me****  
**

Cynthia Rose has walked away but Stacie stands her ground. "Oh really?" Stacie challenges Donald's serenade and crosses her arms in defiance.

**Let's talk about all the good things  
****And the bad things that may be  
****Let's talk about sex****  
**

Aubrey gets annoyed at the eye-sex (_practically_) between Donald and Stacie, so she walks to Stacie and pulls her away from the Trebles, Donald waving goodbye mockingly.

**Let's talk about sex  
****Let's talk about sex, baby-"****  
**

Stacie stops Aubrey and tell her she has another song. She walks back to the center and starts to sing _I'll Make Love To You_.

**"Baby all through the night  
****I'll make love to you****  
**

Stacie places a hand on Donald while she sings, and he smiles cockily, while the rest of the Trebles back off and give them _space_. (_Wow, this is really happening. If things escalate any more, I'm going to have to get Dean and Casey out of here._) Beca shudders at the thought as Fat Amy joins Stacie to continue the song.

**Like you want me to  
****And I-"****  
**

Unfortunately for the girls, one of the newly recruited Trebles this year steps up and starts to sing _Sex Therapy_. This cocky—is there another kind?—Treble starts making suggestive gestures towards the Bellas but his eyes linger on Beca. _Ew, what is this dude doing?_ She raises her eyebrows in question as he sings.

**"I got one thing on my mind, I'll be your valentine  
****Spread your wings and baby, fly away  
****It's your body, we can love if you want to  
****Loud if you want to, scream if you want to  
****Just let me love, lay you right here, girl, don't be scared of me****  
**

Beca wants to wipe the smug look off of the Treble's face, but she fidgets thinking of a song idea. She turns around and sees the boys watching her, encouraging her to join in. She smiles at them when a song pops into her head. Turning around, she doesn't hesitate to walk towards the center to interrupt the Trebles again.

**Give you sex therapy, give you sex therapy  
****It's-"****  
**

Beca smirks at the Treble as she begins to rap _No Diggity_.

**"It's going down, fade to Blackstreet  
****The homies got RB, collab' creations  
****Bump like Acne, no doubt  
****I put it down, never slouch  
****As long as my credit can vouch  
****A dog couldn't catch me straight up****  
**

She feels the energy pushing its way out insider her. She feels a bit of an ego boost when the Treble's jaw drops, and she shoos him away while she continues. She thinks she even sees Bumper with an impressed look on his face, but she could just be imagining it in the heat of the moment.

**Tell me who can stop when Dre making moves  
****Attracting honeys like a magnet  
****Giving 'em eargasms with my mellow accent  
****Still moving this flavor  
****With the homies Blackstreet and Teddy  
****The original rump shakers****  
**

Beca stops rapping and doesn't continue the song yet, looking around at the other groups and the Bellas. Some of them are looking at her in awe, surprise, confusion, and the Bellas are just standing back. _Did I… do something wrong?_ Nerves hit her like daggers so Beca looks over to the boys sitting on the platform. Casey is grinning like a kid on Christmas morning and Dean is nodding his head encouragingly and mouthing "keep going." Beca smiles at them, winking at Dean, before she starts to sing.

**Short get down, good Lord  
****Baby got 'em open all over town  
****Strictly biz, she don't play around****  
**

She hears a Bella start to sing along behind her. She turns around and sees Amy walking towards her.

**Cover much ground, got game by the pound  
****Getting paid is a forte****  
**

They high-five as the rest of the girls pick up which song she's singing and join her in the middle.

**Each and every day, true player way  
****I can't get her out of my mind  
****I think about the girl all the time****  
**

The Bellas are all singing, except for Aubrey, and are backing each other up, getting lost in the song. Beca forgets about the Trebles since they don't make any move to try and cut them off again, and she pours her heart and voice into singing with _her_ group.

**I like the way you work it  
****No diggity  
****I got to bag it up baby****  
**

The crowd is clapping at their song choice, cheers encouraging them on. The boys stand on the platform and cheer as well.

**I like the way you work it  
****No diggity  
****I got to bag it up baby****  
**

Just then, Beca hears the crowd and the BU Harmonics join in the song, singing background vocals. She's amazed at the passion around the pool and relishes the moment, proud to be a part of it. Beca glances around encouraging everyone else to sing along and notices that the boys have made their way onto the pool floor and are running towards the Bellas and Beca.

**I got to bag it up… we out!"**

Beca closes the song just as Dean and Casey reach her. The Bellas and the boys start cheering at the performance, the crowd going wild as well. Everyone's clapping, and the boys are buzzing with joy and excitement. Casey _and Dean_ hug Beca and yell "that was awesome!" and "I didn't know you could sing like that, OR RAP!" over the noise. Beca squeezes the boys back and laughs with them in elation.

The noise slowly fades away as Justin walks up to the a capella groups. They watch in anticipation to hear the results, Beca confident that they're the winners of the night. Justin glances between the Trebles and Bellas, and then announces, "it's a tough blow… BOYS. Looks like you're… cut off!" The Bellas clap along with Justin and the crowd as the Treblemakers are disqualified, and since the BU Harmonics didn't participate in the round, the winners are the Bellas! Everyone erupts in cheers once again, and the Trebles respectfully clap and leave the Bellas to celebrate their victory and prize.

The Bellas huddle up and talk animatedly, with people coming up to them and congratulating them and complimenting Beca. They're all giddy with pleasure, but finally Beca speaks up, "You guys! What we just did was great!"

Amy agrees saying, "crushed it."

"Yes! We did great!" Aubrey says proudly. Chloe nudges her side, and Aubrey speaks again, "You did great Beca; we won because of you." Aubrey smiles at her, and for once, it doesn't look so forced.

"Thanks… but we all did it, together. If we do that all the time, there's no way that we can't make it to Lincoln Center this year." The other Bellas nod with her.

"Well, it can't be _exactly _like that. We don't stray from tradition." Aubrey loses her smile instantly.

"But Aubrey-" Beca starts.

"Okay!" Aubrey interrupts, "we get a well-deserved break tomorrow… no practice!" The rest of the Bellas cheer at the announcement but Beca is still stuck on her interrupted conversation with Aubrey. Chloe looks at her sheepishly, but Aubrey calls the Bella's attention again, "Hands in." None of the Bellas move, mostly in confusion about how the group is supposed to chant together. "Hands in, aca-bitches!" Aubrey says more forcefully. They all put their right hand in the middle, but sing "Ah!" at different times.

"Ugh, why can't we get this right?" Stacie wonders aloud.

"We'll work on that later," Aubrey says as she dismisses the Bellas and walks away with some of the girls.

"I'll talk to her," Chloe whispers, before following the rest of the girls.

Beca blows out a long breath, then feels one tiny hand slip into her left hand while a medium-size hand hugs her from the side. She looks down and smiles at Dean and Casey, her little manly cheerleaders of the night. "Let's get you two home…"

* * *

Casey and Dean are asking her a thousand questions and giving her numerous compliments on her voice and rapping skills. It must have tired Casey out, because by the time they get to the car, he's falling asleep. Beca pushes him to lie down in the back seat and gets an extra blanket she keeps in the trunk. She drapes it over him, before closing the door and walking to the driver's side of the car.

Dean and Beca are quiet while they talk, careful not to disturb Casey's sleeping form. Dean turns on the radio, and coincidentally, _No Diggity _is playing. One glance between them and then they're both rapping and singing (quietly) to the song. When the song is over, Dean turns the volume down and tells Beca, "Wow. That was actually pretty cool. Who knew a capella could be so… not lame?" Beca smiles, remembering that she thought the same thing at the activities fair. "But _No Diggity_? I love that song! How do you know that song? You were probably like 3-years-old?!" Dean pleads to know the answer.

Beca laughs softly. "ME?! How do you know it Dean? You weren't even born when that song came out!"

He laughs in agreement, but doesn't say anything back. They stay quiet for a while, then all of a sudden, Dean whispers, "Thanks Beca."

"Hmm? What for?" Beca asks uncertain.

"Today was really cool, even though, before, you probably noticed I was being weird about going to Barden." Dean avoids looking at her again, obviously uncomfortable talking so seriously _while _looking at the person as well.

"It's okay… I'm sure you have your reasons; I'm not gonna push you for information if you don't want to tell me." Beca hoped Dean would know she was completely honest about that. "But, you _can _talk to me, you know?" Beca added cautiously.

He looked at her for the longest time, but he lightly whispered to her, "I know. I'm… glad you actually care."

Beca looked at him confused. "What do you mean? Have you had other nannies that didn't care about you?"

He didn't say anything right away, so she turned towards him and saw an inner battle in his eyes. _There's something he wants to tell me… about another nanny? One who possibly didn't care about him? … She could be the reason he's been so hesitant to warm up to me. … She sucks, whoever she is!_

Beca pulls up to the Swanson's house and types in the code. The gates open and she parks as close as she can to the front porch. She takes out her phone and sends a quick text to Jesse to let him know his brothers are home and to help with Casey. Dean and Beca see the front porch light turn on and Jesse steps out, holding a blanket around himself. She gets out of the car to open the car door for Jesse to grab Casey, but she stops when she notices his _Star Wars_ pajamas.

"Um… nice. Very nice," Beca smirks.

"What?" Jesse looks confused, but Beca points at his pajama bottoms and his eyes travel to meet where her finger is pointing. Jesse gasps and pulls the blanket tighter around him, shielding his pajama bottoms. He's slowly turning red as he tries to explain, "They're not mine…" Beca raises an eyebrow at him and Jesse face-palms himself, "that was…dumb. Okay, they _are _mine, but they're a gift from my best friend. He's kind of obsessed with Star Wars."

"Whatever, Swanson. What you decide to wear or not wear in the comfort of your own home is none of my business." Beca doesn't realize what she's said until Jesse's blush is gone and he's smirking at her now. "Don't!" she says pointing a finger in warning at him, "that did not come out right. Just… shut up and get your brother inside!" Jesse chuckles and tries to hide his grin but he can't. Beca inwardly curses herself as Jesse bends down to pick his brother up from her back seat. Jesse holds Casey and makes his way back inside. She closes the back door and walks up to the passenger window, knocking on the glass. Dean rolls down the window, but keeps his gaze to the front. _He hasn't made a move to get out of the car yet, so he wants to tell me… right? _"So what's up?"

Dean releases a large breath he was holding in and admits, "There was _one _nanny. She was the only one we ever had, long-term, before you and it wasn't a good goodbye. … I'm not supposed to talk about it with anyone who's not my family, but _she's _the reason why I didn't want to like you, why I didn't want to be at Barden. She went there while she babysat me and my brothers, but she never cared about me, any of us. … _She ruined everything_."

Hearing Dean talking so dejectedly made Beca's heart sink. She couldn't understand any person who could spend time with this family, with the boys, and NOT want to keep them with you forever. "Who is she?" Beca knew if she went to Barden, she might know the girl, and who knows maybe she could do something to help Dean.

"Her name is Ju-"

"Dean, what are you doing?" Jesse interrupted.

Both Dean and Beca jumped at his voice, looking more guilty. "Nothing," they both said, obviously unconvincing Jesse.

"Uh huh, well Mom and Dad are going to be home in a bit. You better get inside," Jesse demanded.

Dean half-smiles at Beca and says, "See you on Monday," as he gets out of the car and hugs her one last time.

She hugs him back and she and Jesse watch Dean walk inside the house, closing the door behind him. She looks over at Jesse and he's scrutinizing her. "What?"

"Nothing. Looks like Dean's warmed up to you now," Jesse says.

"Yeah, I have that effect on people," Beca jokes, hoping to get rid of the tension in the air.

She knows it works when Jesse smiles at her and says, "I've noticed. You know, I have that effect too?"

"Uhhh, I don't think so. Keep working on it, though. I'm sure you'll get it right soon," Beca smiles mockingly.

Before Jesse has a chance to respond, his phone beeps from his pocket and he pulls it out to see he has a text message from Beth. He sighs, remembering he has a girlfriend and reminding himself that flirting with _the help_ is what got him in trouble the last time. "I need to take this. Thanks for bringing my brothers home."

Beca felt a sting of disappointment, but covered it quickly, "Like I said when you texted me, it's no big deal. They're really cool to hang out with and I had time."

"Sounds like you're getting attached?" Jesse eyed her curiously, trying to read her body language.

"Yeah, I think I am. … Is that bad?" Beca asked honestly.

Jesse was surprised to hear Beca sound so vulnerable, but he wanted to reassure her that it wasn't a bad thing to like her little brothers. "No, of course not. They need that… someone, not family, who really cares about them. They need it more than they should, but I guess that's my fault." Beca looked at him, silently asking him how, but he shook his head no. "It doesn't matter."

Beca pondered his words, remembering what Dean said about the other nanny ruining "everything" for _all of them_, then replied, "Don't you need _someone_ too?"

Jesse smiled sadly to himself and avoided Beca's gaze when he said, "Not right now… Bye, Beca."

Jesse walked back to the main house and left Beca in the dark shadows of the porch. She stayed in the same spot for a while, thinking about everything that had happened in the last week, and finally moved to her car when the porch light shut off. She got in her car and turned it on. "Bye Jesse," she whispered aloud before she drove away.

* * *

**AN: ****Sorry for the late update, but I hope the length will make up for it! First of all, let me know if the formatting is confusing on the texting. Also, I HAD to change the riff off. It didn't seem right to include Jesse's song (**_**Feels Like The First Time**_**), and who knows, maybe this change will add some interesting twists to my story.**

**Anyways, the kids have met the Bellas and I think Beca and Dean are finally developing a friendship (I'm trying not to rush this too much either, thoughts?) Also, sorry there's not a lot of Beca/Jesse **_**face-to-face **_**interaction in this chapter. I need to constantly remind myself that I want to tie in the movie (a capella and all) to this AU idea, so I'm doing my best. Thanks so much for reading. I love the support I receive and I hope that I'm making you all proud and meeting expectations. Again, can't thank you all enough!**


	5. Mornings with the Boys

**Quick shout out to **_Penguinlover5527_ **for helping me create my newest character. I loved working with you! Hope the readers like the newbie!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pitch Perfect, The Graduate, Our Idiot Brother, or anything else that seems familiar, but I own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

_From: Meryl Swanson  
__To: Beca Mitchell  
__Subject: Mornings...  
__Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2012, 3:17 PM__  
_

_Hello Beca!  
__I'm sorry we missed you on Friday. Berry and I had an event to attend, but _Dean_ and Casey did NOT stop talking about their day on Friday. I'm so glad you all had a good time together!  
__For this week, we have a bit of a schedule conflict. Jesse usually drives the boys to school but he has other plans this week. Do you have time to pick up the boys from home and them to school on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7:45 AM?  
__Please let me know if this works with your schedule.  
__-Meryl__  
_

Beca groaned when she read the email. She was **NOT** a morning person—at all!—and if she agreed, she would have to wake up earlier than she would normally for Bella's practice. She desperately wanted to write back with an excuse and lame apology to get out of it but she couldn't deny that she wouldn't mind spending more time with the boys, even in the early hours of the morning.

She cursed herself for liking this family so much, but she quickly typed out a response before she could change her mind.

* * *

Beca pulled up to the Swanson house at 7:30 on Monday morning. She was holding a warm coffee in her hands and sipping lightly. Beca was afraid that if she didn't buy coffee, she would fall asleep in her car before even turning it on. In all honesty, this was Beca's _third_ cup and it was finally waking her up. It took a lot of energy to pry her out of bed that morning; so much energy, in fact, that she hadn't bothered to change. She was wearing a dark purple tank top with a large, black jacket over it and lavender plaid pajama bottoms—which were too long—tucked into black boots. _I need more sleep! _Beca hoped that she would have enough time to make it back to campus and maybe get some extra sleep before getting ready for Bella's rehearsal, but first she needed to rush these boys to school.

She quickly typed in the gate code and started to drive up the hill. Midway up, she saw headlights coming towards her. Beca quickly slammed on her brakes and honked. The other car swerved into the bushes on Beca's left, barely missing her car.

Beca scrambled to get the seatbelt off and pushed her door open. "Please don't let that be Berry or Meryl," she whispered to herself. _Ugh, who else would it be!?_ She pouted and walked slowly to the other car, seeing Jesse behind the wheel and also frantic to get his seatbelt off. He stepped out of the car, but smacked his head on a low-hanging branch of a nearby tree, getting a few loose leaves caught in his hair. He yelped at the smack on his forehead. Beca burst out laughing—at the high-pitched yelp or the leaves, she wasn't sure which was funnier to her—and tried to speak in between laughs, "Are you- are- you okay?"

Jesse huffed at Beca and narrowed his eyes. "What are you laughing at?!" he snapped. Beca just pointed to his hair, but couldn't form any words around her laughter. He turned to see his reflection in the driver's window. He swatted the leaves out of his hair and fixed it again before turning back around to face her. Beca was still laughing so Jesse cleared his throat and spoke up, "Yes, ha-ha. Very funny. … Who issued your license anyways? I'd like to file a complaint."

Beca's laugh finally stopped when she noticed he was… mad? "Dude, relax. This wasn't even my fault," she pointed to his car in the bushes.

Jesse scoffed in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!"

"Are you serious?! There's enough space on this hill for two cars and you were driving down the middle," Beca stared at him, anger rising in her voice.

They both stood with their arms crossed glaring at each other. Jesse was about to respond, but Dean and Casey ran out of the house towards the cars. Dean stopped in his tracks when he saw Jesse's car in the bushes. "What happened?"

Casey looked at his brother, then Beca. "Did you- did you crash?"

Beca shot Jesse an angry look before turning to Casey, "Your IDIOT brother almost drove into me. That's how he ended up in the bushes."

"Well if he's anything like Paul Rudd, he means well," Dean smiled at Jesse who shook his head with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Beca looked between the boys, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What?"

"_Our Idiot Brother_ starring Paul Rudd, directed by Jesse Peretz. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters last August," Dean stated without taking a single breath, causing Beca's eyebrows to shoot up. "Ring any bells?" Dean questioned. When Beca just stared blankly at him, Dean sighed, "Never mind."

Casey softly face-palmed and shook his head in embarrassment, "Ignore them. They nerd-out over movies… but usually Dean's all about action and superheroes." Beca laughs when she sees Jesse and Dean balk at Casey's statement.

"Since no one died," Dean looked between Beca and Jesse, angry tension emanating from both of them, "…yet, I'm going to finish my breakfast before we leave for school. Casey let's go." Both boys walked away, occasionally looking over their shoulders to make sure Jesse and Beca didn't bite each other's heads off.

Beca exhaled and looked at Jesse's car, stuck in the bushes. "Do you need some help? It still works right?"

Jesse shrugged and sat back down in the driver's seat. With one foot outside the car, Jesse attempted to turn the car on. He turned the key to the start position but the motor wouldn't crank. He tried a few times, but nothing happened. Jesse sighed and ran his hands through his hair a few times, messing it up again. "The starter won't crank… it's probably because of the crash," Jesse looked pointedly at Beca, "but I can fix it later. If you'd really like to help, you could drive the car in neutral while I push it back into the garage."

"Um… yeah, okay." Beca slowly walked to the other car and sat in the driver's seat. Jesse walked around the car and inspected the front bumper for any damage. "Ready?" she asked. Jesse held up a finger and pulled his sweater off first, his t-shirt ridding up exposing a sliver of skin and the hint of abs. Beca's eyes were trained on him while he walked towards the driver's door.

He leaned through the window and tossed the sweater onto the passenger's seat. He moved back and looked at Beca, who was still staring at him with wide eyes. "What?" he asked confused. Beca shook her head and moved her eyes to face the front of the car, but Jesse didn't miss the slight blush creeping its way into her cheeks. Jesse smiled at her expression, but couldn't figure out what was making her blush. _She's cute when she's nervous. Jesus, Jesse, get a grip! _

Jesse walked back to the front of the car and when he nodded at her, she shifted the car into neutral and maneuvered the wheel to pull out of the bushes while Jesse pushed the car back up the hill. Beca didn't miss the way his arms flexed when he started pushing the car. Her eyes were drawn to his arms the entire time and almost backed the car up into more bushes until Jesse caught her eyes and she focused back on the car. It looked like Jesse was struggling (_well of course he's struggling! He's pushing a car up a hill!_), but with a stupid smirk on his face, so Beca asked, "Do you need help? I'm pretty strong."

Jesse immediately stopped pushing, slowly dropping his head as his hands started trembling. She was afraid the car was too heavy for him to push all by himself and he was obviously struggling now. The thought of the car rolling back down the hill towards Jesse crossed her mind, and as she moved to set the car in park and pull on the emergency break to help him, she heard a laugh. She looked back to the house and saw that the boys hadn't come back outside and then she peered towards Jesse again, his hands and shoulders now completely shaking. She placed the car in park and pulled the emergency break, making sure the car wouldn't move before stepping out of the car and moving towards Jesse. When she stood at his side, she saw that he was closing his eyes with a smile on his face.

She couldn't believe it. HE. WAS. LAUGHING. At her! "What are _you_ laughing at?!" she mimicked his earlier question back at him.

Jesse realized the car was parked again so he put his arms down and leaned against the hood of the car, holding his stomach. He was laughing out loud now, but unlike Beca, he had the common courtesy to try to keep it together and hold it in. He turned towards her, holding in his laughter, and said, "I'm sorry, that was rude. Thanks for the offer Beca, really, but I think it's better if you just get behind the wheel."

Beca narrowed her eyes at Jesse, walked up to him and shoved him out of the way. "Well I wouldn't want you to break a nail, nerd, so why don't you let me push? It'll go by a lot faster this way," she smirked at him and positioned herself to push the car back up the hill.

Jesse considered this for a second. Making Beca push the car back up the hill wouldn't be very gentlemanly of him, but damn him he couldn't resist a challenge, and Beca was definitely being challenging. "Hmm… suit yourself. Let me know when you wear yourself out and need a **real** man to help you out."

Beca scoffed at his cockiness and pointed to the driver's seat, "Just get behind the wheel, nerd!"

"Oh! Is that my nickname now?" Jesse feigned excitement before continuing, "I knew you were warming up to me." Beca rolled her eyes at him causing Jesse to laugh. He sat down behind the wheel, and released the emergency break. The car moved forward a bit, and he noticed that Beca struggled to keep it in place, trying to test her strength. Jesse suddenly felt a pang of worry in his chest. He met her eyes, knowing his face would express how worried he felt but he didn't care. They stared at each other until Beca stepped back and walked to the passenger window. She tapped on the window and he unlocked the door. "Giving up already?" Jesse asked trying to keep a light tone.

Beca smirked at him, "Not a chance nerd!" As she slipped her jacket off, she said, "My jacket's too big around my arms and it's making it harder to get a good grip." Beca placed the jacket down on top of Jesse's sweater and made her way back to the front of the car. "Alright, put the car in neutral." Jesse looked at her hesitantly, but she just said, "C'mon Swanson! We don't have all morning!"

Suddenly remembering the time, he complied and watched her push the car carefully. All his doubt faded when he noticed that she pushed them the few feet up the hill and now was just pushing the car forward towards the garage. _She did it. I keep underestimating you, Beca._ Jesse placed the car in park and stepped out of the car, clapping at the tiny girl who barely broke a sweat. He saw her roll her eyes at him, but did a mock bow. Jesse's breath hitched when he caught a view of her cleavage as she bowed in front of him. _Oh my. She's not… wearing… a bra._

Dean and Casey ran out of the house, dragging their backpacks behind them. "We're gonna be late!" they yelled in unison.

Beca smiled at them and shook her head in reassurance, "No, you won't. I would never let you guys be late." She turned toward Jesse then, but he just stood in front of her, avoiding her gaze. "Um you okay dude?" Jesse just nodded, but avoided her gaze still. "Alright then… you coming? Or do you have another ride?"

"Fuck!" Jesse groaned. Casey sent him a look and he smiled apologetically. "I meant… crap! Um, I do need a ride now. Do you mind?" he asked finally meeting Beca's eyes. _Look at her eyes! Not below the neck!_

Beca just smiled in response. "Let's go. Lucky for me, you all go to the same school so we only have one stop." Beca shuffled the boys down to her car still parked on the hill, while Jesse hurriedly grabbed his backpack from the backseat of his car and ran to catch up to them.

"Shot gun!" Jesse yelled from behind them.

"No fair! I never sit next to Beca!" Casey complained

"You can't do that! We've already established a seating chart, and shot gun has been placed in a state of eternal dibs for me," Dean defended.

Beca rolled her eyes at these boys, but then she thought of a fun idea. She jogged in front of the boys and called up to Jesse, "Stop where you are!" Jesse halted instantly and dropped his backpack to the ground, raising his hands in the air. "You're not getting arrested," Beca smiled biting back a smile. "But how about a race? Whoever gets to the passenger door first gets to sit in the front? No scratching the paint!" she pointed a finger at each boy until they nodded in acknowledgment.

Dean and Casey walked back up to stand next to Jesse, who had strapped his backpack on tight, and waited for Beca to get to her car. She leaned in her car and was searching for something. Finally, she popped back out with a drink in her hand. Casey laughed at Beca's expression after taking a drink, but Dean and Jesse just huffed in annoyance.

"Any day now!" Dean pressed.

"Okay… Go!" Beca yelled.

All the boys took off for the passenger side door. Dean cut Jesse off and almost made him trip while Casey tried to keep up with Dean. To Beca's amazement, the boys all reached for the passenger handle at the same time: Casey being crushed into the door, Dean shoving Jesse from his left, and Jesse pushing in between his two brothers. At first, Beca laughed giddily at the boys, considering she locked the door, but then her car alarm went off. In shock, Beca moved her hands to cover her ears at the loud noise, dropping her coffee. The coffee spilled partly down her shirt and then onto her boots.

"Ah! That's fucking hot!" Beca yelped as she held the tank top away from her skin. She looked up to see the boys motioning for her to turn the alarm off. She pulled the keys out of her pocket and shut the alarm off.

Jesse started to remove his hands from his ears, but Casey and Dean stopped him. "She might be a bit upset because we made her spill her coffee. Better safe than sorry," Casey mumbled.

Beca closed her eyes in frustration and annoyance. _I brought this on myself. … But damn them for setting the alarm off! Ugh!_ She glared at the boys, clenched her teeth, took a deep, _deep_ breath and pointed to the backseat. Each boy nodded in understanding and then struggled to get into the back seat, none of them wanting the middle seat until Beca shot them a look that made them move faster. When they were all finally ready to go, Beca absentmindedly plugged in her iPod and set a playlist with her mixes.

While they drove the short distance to Pace, Beca watched the boys through the rearview mirror. They all had their own iPods plugged into their ears, bobbing their heads to whatever rhythm they were hearing, except for Dean who removed his ear buds when her newest mix, _Titanium/I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)_, started playing through her car's stereo's speakers.

She lowered it, thinking it was too loud, but Dean shook his head and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Dude, no. Turn it up! What is this?" Dean said bobbing his head again, lightly singing along.

Beca smiled as she saw his eyes brighten as the song began to "build," as Chloe would describe it. "It's just a new mix," Beca shrugged nonchalantly.

"This is _yours_?" Dean asked, mouth agape.

Beca nodded at Dean as he smiled approvingly. "This is really good Beca," Jesse said out of nowhere. She turned to meet his eyes and she saw genuine interest in his smile.

"Thanks," she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Knowing these boys liked her music, even if she hadn't intended for them to hear it like this, it brightened her day and inspired a new energy in her.

"Do you have more?" Jesse asked, snapping Beca out of her thoughts. When she just nodded back at him, Jesse frowned. "What? Don't you let people listen to your music?"

"Not usually," she replied truthfully. "I make these for myself cause it's what I wanna do. I wanna produce music. I wanna make music," she admitted.

"That is amazing Beca," Jesse said.

She turned to face him and send him a small smile, but his face was just _inches_ from hers. She sucked in a breath at his close proximity and the way her heart sped up a bit faster when he looked at her with… _warmth_ in his eyes. She broke her gaze from his and faced the road, noticing that they were driving into the school zone. She lowered the volume of the stereo, glanced quickly in the rearview mirror and caught Jesse looking back at her, but looking away as she spoke up, "Okay boys, we're here with minutes to spare."

They all got out of the car, Beca helping Casey with his backpack and making sure Dean didn't forget his lunch in her car, _again_. While she was helping the boys, she noticed a few people staring at her. She looked around and saw more people looking in their direction. Irritated, Beca asked the boys, "Is there a reason you're whole school is staring at me?"

Casey looked at Beca and smiled, "It could be cause you're wearing PJs?" Casey laughed at Beca's fake offended expression and kissed her goodbye on the cheek. "See you after school Beca!"

"Bye Casey!" she yelled back.

As Casey walked away, she saw him stop in front of a small girl about Dean's height. She couldn't see the girl's face because her long, brown hair cascaded around her shoulders as she leaned down to talk to Casey at eye level. Casey quickly pointed towards them and the girl turned to look at them. She smiled as her eyes landed on Dean. She gave Casey a quick hug and kiss on the head as he ran towards his class and she made her way over.

Beca took the time to really look at the girl. She didn't look like the typical middle-schooler. She was an early bloomer and appeared taller than most of her classmates, but was the same height as Dean, so it didn't seem weird for her. She didn't wear makeup, as most middle-schoolers experiment with eye shadow and lip gloss, but she was completely natural and still very pretty. She had chocolate brown eyes that appeared to become lighter when Dean noticed her and her smile grew. She wasn't dressed in a little mini skirt or flowy dress, trying to impress anyone. She was casually dressed and looked comfortable, with skinny jeans that hugged the small curves she had and what appeared to be an old tee with a band name on it, and a bold, red jacket that matched her red Vans. She had a few rings and bracelets, but nothing too crazy and some simple diamond studs on her ears. She reminded Beca of the girl version of Dean.

Dean walked up to the girl and gave her a quick hug and then _she _pulled him back towards Beca. "Spidey, don't be rude. Introduce me," the girl smirked at him.

_Spidey?!_ Beca bit her lip so hard to keep in a smile, laugh, _everything_… after hearing Dean's nickname. "Yeah, _Spidey_," Beca smirked at him too.

Dean turned slightly away, enough for the girl by his side to miss the red flush creeping up his neck and onto his ears and face. "Don't start," Dean warned Beca.

Both Beca and the other girl laughed lightly at Dean. The other girl smacked his arm then said, "Don't be embarrassed, Spidey. You love your nickname."

"Cam, stop torturing me. I'll introduce you." Dean sighed when the girl stuck her hands in her jacket pockets waiting for him to follow through with his word. "Ugh, okay! Beca, this is Cam, Camilla, my best friend. … Cam, this is Beca, the new nanny I told you about."

Beca looked at Dean with a smirk, "Aww! You've been talking about me?" She reached over to pinch his cheeks but he swatted her hand away and yelled "quit it!"

Cam smiled happily at Beca, "Don't listen to him. He loves the attention." She sent Dean a smile and he visibly relaxed. "He hasn't stopped talking about you since you started working for them, don't let him tell you otherwise. He really likes you."

"Cam you don't have to lie to her. She has a HUGE ego already," Dean informed her.

She rolled her eyes at him. _Wow, he has that effect on her too. Nice. It's not just me then. _"He's nicer when you get to know him. You know? Deep down. … Deep, deep, _deep_ down."

"Hey! I've been nice to you since the moment we met!" Dean defended.

"Oh really?! Cause I recall you not wanting to play toy cars with me in Pre-First because, and I quote, 'you're a girl?!'" Beca gasped at Dean and Cam raised her eyebrows, challenging him to refute it.

"I can't be held accountable for what I did or did not do when I was _five_! You need to let that go Cam," Dean said to her. She shook her head no and whispered "never!" Dean smiled at her, and Beca thought she saw _love_ in his eyes.

_Hmmm… I wonder?_ "Um…so you've known each other for a while, huh?" Beca asked.

"I know what you're thinking," Cam responded, "how have I dealt with him for so long?"

Beca laughed, "Those were my thoughts exactly."

Cam looks at Dean who's just sitting back and letting her and Beca bond. "Well, I guess he either grows on you or you learn to deal with him. I think it's both with our relationship."

Beca raised her eyebrows slightly at the word relationship. _Interesting… she didn't say friendship_. She looked at Dean and his head was down but a small smile was on his face and a slight blush. _There's something definitely going on here._

Beca was snapped out of her thoughts when Cam spoke again, "So are you going to help us celebrate Dean's birthday on Friday?"

Beca whipped her head at Dean, seeing him turning slightly away from her and avoiding her gaze. "Excuse me?"

Cam looked between the two, completely confused, until her mouth shaped into an O. "Dean! You didn't tell her?"

"She's busy Cam, and I don't even know what _we're _doing yet," Dean said exasperated.

Beca held her hand up when Cam was going to talk again, "Um Spidey?" Dean looked up and glared daggers at her but Beca was unaffected. "You never asked me if I was free to do anything AND you didn't even tell me it was your birthday on Friday. Neither did your mom, actually, that's strange," Beca mumbled the last part to herself.

"I think it's fair to say that we weren't exactly friends before Friday," Dean admitted. He saw Beca start to tease him again, so he rushed out, "_PLUS_, I didn't think you'd want to hang out with a bunch of middle-schoolers and high-schoolers. Especially since you have all those friends and a capella events," Dean mumbled out.

"A capella?" Cam and Jesse both questioned. Beca turned and saw Jesse was still there, resting on her car. _Why is he still here?_ Beca shrugged indifferently and said, "Yeah, it's a club I'm involved in at school."

"Wow. You go to BU, right?" Cam asked interested.

"Yeah?" Beca responded hesitantly. _What does this girl know?_

"You're a Barden Bella?!" Cam asked excited. Both Dean and Beca looked at her, surprised she would know about the college group. Cam smiled at them and explained, "My mom was a Bella when she went to Barden. She loved it!"

"Wow. That's pretty cool. So do you sing?" Beca asked.

"Yes! I'm in the middle school's Glee Club," Cam said proudly.

Beca turned to Dean, ready to lecture him on sharing and secrets, as she asked him, "Are you in the Glee Club too? And you didn't tell me after what you saw on Friday?"

"What did you see on Friday?" Jesse suddenly asked behind them.

They ignored Jesse's question and Beca looked at Dean again. "Well?"

"No! That's not my thing. I don't… sing," he answered.

"That's not true," Cam, Beca, and Jesse said simultaneously. The three of them exchanged glances then turned to look at Dean in unison.

"This is getting weird," Dean muttered. "We're gonna be late, Cam."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Please, as if you care. You'll probably wanna take the long way to class anyways."

Cam and Beca laughed at Dean and he groaned. "Okay," he said grabbing Cam's hand, "girl talk is over. You can continue this another day."

Cam let him take her hand but stopped him from walking too far when she noticed people staring at Beca. "What are you staring at?" Cam suddenly asked a group of boys who appeared to be middle-schoolers too.

They passed by them quickly, staring wide-eyed at Beca. She huffed in annoyance and fidgeted with her now dry tank top. _Why am I being gawked at?!_

"Just ignore them," Dean said noticing Beca's expression, "The PJs don't do you justice. They don't know how cool you are," he smiled proudly.

"Thanks dude," Beca held out her fist and they bumped hands before Dean and Cam took off. "It was nice to meet you," Beca called out to Cam.

"Nice to meet you too!" she responded before Dean dragged her further into the school.

Beca was excited to hear more about Dean's best friend when she picked the boys up after school. She smiled at the possibility and almost obvious show of Dean crushing on this girl. While she was lost in thought over this, she barely felt Jesse come up behind her.

"You know?" he whispered lightly in her ear, making her jump at his voice before she turned to face him. "I have a theory about the staring," Jesse smiled knowingly.

Beca raised an eyebrow at him, "You do?" When Jesse nodded, Beca crossed her arms, causing her cleavage to be pushed up. "Let's hear it."

Jesse closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes and reaching for her arms to uncross them. She stiffened when she felt his touch leave a tingling feeling all over her skin, causing goose bumps. His hands rested on hers as he leaned in and she sucked in a breath, freaking out internally as he was getting closer. _WHAT IS HE DOING?!_ She wanted to step out of his reach or smack his face away, but she felt paralyzed. His gaze kept her motionless in one spot. He leaned closer and closer until she was sure she could feel his warm breath on her skin, near her mouth, mingling with her breath. Beca's eyes closed involuntarily and her breathing was becoming louder as she waited for him to do…whatever it was he was going to do. She felt his warm breath on hers for the longest time, until she finally opened her eyes again and he was just looking at her, blank expression on his face. They stared at each other until he finally moved closer… but then his mouth suddenly moved towards her left ear. She breathed out in… relief? "You're not wearing a bra, Beca."

Beca gasped, finally remembering that she hadn't bothered to quickly slip on a bra—hence the giant jacket. _Where did I put my jacket?!_ Beca instantly crossed her hands, covering herself, shocked that she could have so easily forgotten about it. Jesse didn't even turn back to look at her, but walked towards the school. She watched him walk away from her, wondering. _How did he even know I wasn't wearing a bra?... Ugh! I hate mornings._

* * *

**AN: ****I introduced another character in my story, Camilla. Right now, she doesn't have a major role in this story in my head, but that could change depending on how people like her, or not. (I hope you do.) As I said at the top, **_Penguinlover5527_ **helped me brainstorm and create this important character in Dean's, or should I say Spidey (more details on this to come), life! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for reading!**


	6. Project XIII

**No AN before the start of the chapter, just a few responses to my Guest reviewers:**

**Ebony: I'm thrilled that you like the story! I'm curious how you think Jesse's a girl though? Ha-ha! It warms my heart to hear that you connect to the OCs like I have. [Casey and Dean are my prized creations :) !] I really tried to make Beca and Jesse out to be how they were in the movie but they have twisted into different characters, but not too much. Glad you caught that. I hope you like this next chapter! Thanks for the support.**

**Campbell: LOL! Are you speechless? I'm hoping the mumble and random letters is a good sign! I really hope you like the story :)**

**liz: Thank you! You're so sweet! So happy you like the story and I hope I don't disappoint with the following chapter. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Liz: (I'm wondering if you're the same liz that reviewed for chapter 4 too? HA!) Thank you for the compliment. I'm blushing and smiling like crazy! I would never say no to accepting prompts or ideas from the readers. I loved your idea and will definitely include it in the story! Enjoy the next chapter :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pitch Perfect or anything else that seems familiar. I own the plot and all original characters.**

* * *

The first thing Beca did when she returned to her room at Barden was slip on a bra. Sure, she had kept it together (_barely_) in front of Jesse, but had felt the heat on her face during the entire drive back. She all but kicked her dorm room door down in a rush to get inside and put a damn bra on. Amy was still asleep when Beca started getting dressed for Bella's rehearsal at 9 AM. She glanced at the clock on her desktop screen; it read 8:29 AM. That wasn't enough time for Beca to work on a mix and she had bought a bagel on the way back, so she wasn't in the mood for breakfast either.

While Beca contemplated taking a quick nap, she heard her phone vibrate from her pajama bottom's pockets that were thrown on the floor at the edge of her bed. Amy tossed a little at the sound, so Beca quickly snatched up her phone to silence it. Beca had learned by now that waking Amy up was more dangerous than poking a hungry bear; it was best to just let her get up on her own time.

Beca slowly sank down onto her bed and unlocked her phone. She had received a message from an unknown number.

_+1 (404) 555-2257  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:30AM  
__Hey Beca, it's Dean. Using Cam's  
__phone.  
__Could you do me like a HUGE favor?  
__Pretty please :)__  
_

Beca smiled at her phone. She had started to notice that whenever Dean really wanted something, he would make it a point to be noticeably nicer to her, especially using more manners. She was curious to know what the favor entailed so she quickly texted back.

_To: Cam (Dean's "friend")  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:31 AM  
__Aren't you supposed to be learning or  
__something?  
__What do you need Spidey? ;)__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:32 AM  
__No! We're "lost." Our school's pretty  
__big…  
__ANYWAYS, could you pretty PLEASE  
__give Cam a ride home? She needs to  
__come over after school, but has to be  
__home by 5.__  
_

_Hmmm… he didn't even acknowledge me calling him Spidey. He's obviously desperate. _Beca smirked at their messages. She was conflicted between dragging this on and torturing him a bit, or just relenting already since she didn't mind driving a bit more.

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:36 AM  
__Sooo… what do you say?__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:38 AM  
__Hello?_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:39 AM  
__Are you ignoring me? BECA!__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:40 AM  
__PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:40 AM  
__Nkfdsnidsfbisdfnndfisnnfidi__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:41 AM  
__Ignore Dean! He's being annoying  
__I apologize for him, he's trying to  
__wrestle the phone away.__  
_

_To: Cam (Dean's "friend"__)  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:41 AM  
__Unbelievable. Tell Dean that as long  
__as you're not being forced to come  
__over, I can give you a ride home :)__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:41 AM  
__YES! :D Thanks Beca!__  
_

_To: Beca  
__Nov 12, 2012, 8:42 AM  
__I can't remember why I'm willingly  
__coming over, but I am. Thank you.__  
_

With that problem solved, Beca locked her phone and was surprised to see Amy standing in front of her, reading over her head. "Jesus! AMY! I didn't even hear you wake up!" she cried out.

"Flatbutt, I could HEAR your _smile_ from my dreams," Amy prodded. "Who the heck are you texting this early?" Amy leaned closer to Beca to read her newest message.

Beca hid her phone behind her back, but that didn't stop Amy from leaning forward even further to snatch the phone. "Amy!" Beca yelled as she pushed the blonde away. Just as Amy started wrestling with Beca to grab the phone, Amy's phone alarm—what she describes as the noises made by dingoes when they're _intimate_—signaled that the girls had 10 minutes to get to Bella's rehearsal. Beca relaxed as Amy left her alone to turn her alarm off, which was loud enough to cause the people next door to bang loudly on their shared wall. Amy banged on the wall back in response, but didn't question Beca further about her texts as they made their way out of their room and to the auditorium.

* * *

"You're so manipulative," Cam yelled as she shoved Dean through the double doors. "She probably thinks I'm encouraging this!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Dean said, lightly shoving Cam back in the shoulder.

Dean and Cam had walked out to Pace Academy's track field, avoiding homeroom and waiting for the first bell to announce the 10 minute break before first period. They had developed a habit of skipping homeroom this year: Dean rationalized that it was more boring this year and would put him to sleep and Cam would not leave him to miss the class on his own out of fear that he would skip school entirely— and without her—or get himself into trouble—also without her. This was the way that their friendship had been established since they met in their Pre-First classroom at Pace: Dean tried to do things in his own way and Cam would always be there, either going along with his plans or talking him out of them.

Skipping homeroom, however, had only recently begun this school year. The first time Dean brought up the idea, Cam had quickly agreed because even though she liked school, she thought the half an hour period before their _real_ classes was pretty pointless. They didn't want to leave campus that first time, so they had decided to walk around the campus to wait it out but Cam could tell Dean had something on his mind. Having known him for most of his life, she knew the best way to get him to talk was to be patient and wait for him to make the first move. They spent that entire first time in complete silence, and they continued to skip homeroom for the next week before Dean finally revealed to Cam why he had been so absent the summer before: _Julia_.

Since they had never kept anything from each other, Cam had a lot to process during that 30 minute period. Dean couldn't tell her everything but she understood, and slowly, skipping homeroom had become an unspoken act which they spent talking mostly about _that_ summer. This day was different, and instead, they spent their time talking about Beca.

"So you're cool with Beca now, right?" Cam questioned Dean. "No more harassing the nannies? I honestly thought the last one was going to put a WARNING ad in the paper about you."

Dean laughed easily as he remembered his prank on the last nanny, Emily. "To be fair, I warned her not to drink it! I mean it was the color gray and bubbling; that should've been enough red flags for her," Dean shrugged.

Cam rolled her eyes at his flawless ability to justify his pranking. "She had to go to the hospital and be treated for poisoning! Your parents are still paying her medical bills and your mom even said she's on medication for it. … Do you have any remorse?" she feigned disgust.

Dean playfully nudged her hip with his, "Don't act so innocent, Miss Parker. You helped create my concoction."

"UGH! Spidey, I didn't know you were going to give it to her to drink!" Cam explained. "Besides, things worked out for the best—except for Emily—cause now you have Beca."

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "Beca's great and you should've seen her with the Bellas," Dean stopped in his tracks and grabbed Cam's wrist to make her face him, "She rapped _No Diggity_, Cam! How awesome is that?!"

Cam smiled at the excitement in Dean's face as he continued to describe the riff-off between Barden's a capella groups. "Wait, Spidey," she waited for him to finish his tangent so she could have his full attention, "wasn't it weird for you to be at Barden? You know, all things considering?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, temporarily forgetting about his freak out on Friday. He had _not_ mentioned that part of the story to Cam because he knew she would only worry further about him.

"Don't act so innocent," Cam reiterated, albeit less playful with a serious look on her face.

Dean closed his eyes for a few seconds, willing her curiosity and questions to fade away. When Cam didn't utter another word, he slowly opened his eyes, seeing an all-too-familiar frown and pout combination on Cam's face. He groans exaggeratedly and relents, "Fine! But wipe that look off your face."

Cam giggles at his weakness for her _frowny face_ and says, "Works every time," in a sing-song voice.

Dean's frown deepens but he lets it go. "Cam… I may have freaked out a bit when Beca first mentioned it but she was actually pretty helpful. It's like she knew what to do and say already." Cam nodded, encouraging him to continue. "And I may have… mentioned Julia to her, just once!

Cam stared at him with wide eyes, "DEAN! You didn't tell her, did you?"

Dean shifted uncomfortably. There were only a few situations when Cam would call him by his name: when she was _royally pissed_ at him or when she lectured him, and sometimes Dean didn't know the difference between the two situations. "I _was_, but I think Jesse heard me and he stopped me before I could tell Beca anything."

Cam's arm swung out and smacked Dean's chest as a shocked reflex. "Jesse heard you?! DEAN! … This just keeps getting better and better. Did he say anything to you?"

Dean slumped his shoulders, feeling like a puppy being scolded for misbehaving. "I know! I felt like a dick when Jess interrupted, but I _wanted _to tell Beca. I'm not even sure why… but I was trying to apologize and explain my behavior and it slipped out, but it felt… _good _to talk about it without the sting of it being yesterday's news and Beca has no preconceived notions about it either. … It was refreshing."

Cam's eyes softened at Dean's rare show of vulnerability and emotions (even with her) and she patted him on the back, "Spidey, you like Beca. She's your friend now and I think she _really_ cares about you; just… don't let what happened with Julia and your family mess with all the progress you've made with Beca. I can see it in your eyes: you _want _to trust her."

Cam grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze right before the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. "We better go," Dean stated plainly. They fast-walked back to the middle school, but before they walked into their first period, Dean noticed that Cam was still holding his hand. Instinctively, he dropped her hand and walked into the classroom, avoiding her eyes and ignoring the lingering warmth he felt.

* * *

Beca pulled up to Pace right on time, but this time dressed in skinny jeans and a white V-neck. She parked instead of waiting in the long line of cars and got out of the car to look for Casey, Dean, and Cam. She walked to the main fountain in front of the administration building, where she would have the best view of the kids walking towards the parking lot and surrounding the front entrance.

Beca huffed in frustration; she may be a college student but she was still only five feet tall and was having trouble seeing around the taller students being released from the upper school. She hopped up on the fountain's edge to get a better look above the crowd. She scans the students and tries to find Casey's brown locks, listen for Dean's unmistakable voice, or spot Cam's red coat from this morning. Beca suddenly feels a poke in her outer thighs and she jolts forward towards the fountain but as she shrieks in surprise and anticipation of her fall, a pair of muscular arms wraps around her waist and pulls her into a strong chest behind her. She shoves the hands away from her body and turns around to see Jesse with a playful glint in his eye.

She crosses her arms in response and glares at him to wipe that look from his face. "What was that? Were you trying to push me in?" Beca asks defensively.

Jesse keeps the smile on his face and holds up his hands innocently. "No. I was trying to get your attention when you freaked out and lost your footing, then I _saved_ you from giving everyone out here a free show," he gestures to the increasing crowd around them.

"Excuse me?" Beca asks focusing on the last part of that entire statement. "What 'free show?'" Jesse points towards her shirt as if that explains everything but she still doesn't understand. She even created a reminder on her phone out of paranoia that she would forget to wear a bra again, so that wasn't the problem this time. She held her arms tighter against her chest and just raised an eyebrow in question at him.

"Beca, you're wearing a _white_ shirt," Jesse tries explaining again.

Beca looks down at her shirt, if only to remind herself and confirm this observation for herself. _Damn it. Can I look like a bigger idiot right now?_ Beca nods in realization and mutters, "Oh, right." Suddenly, remembering everything that happened this morning—playing "chicken" with their cars on the Swanson's hill, the view of Jesse's arms as he pushed the car up the hill, spilling her hot coffee all over her PJs, everyone at Pace staring at her this morning, then Jesse leaning in close to remind her that she wasn't wearing a bra—makes her blush red all over. She keeps her head down and tries to make the red in her cheeks go away. Thankfully, the awkward silence doesn't last as she hears Dean, Casey, and Cam walking up behind them.

"Casey, we need to knock your brother's ego down a notch! He's too cocky for his own good," Cam taunts.

"Oh! I can help with that," Beca turns around, sending Dean a smirk. "Are you all ready to go?" she says turning her attention to the three of them.

Casey jumps in front of his middle brother and looks up at Beca with puppy dog eyes. "Can we race to the car to see who sits next to you?"

Beca smiles in response but Dean steps up and protests, making the argument that he called "eternal dibs" on shotgun first. As Dean and Casey argue back and forth about the passenger seat and radio control on the ride home, Cam and Beca stand to the side and watch in amusement to wait for the boys to compromise.

"I called shotgun for the ride home," Jesse says loudly behind them all. Dean and Casey stop arguing and everyone turns to face him. "What?" he asks.

Beca blinks in surprise. "You're coming too?"

Jesse nods his head carefully. "I need a ride home. I don't have my car with me," he explains matter-of-factly.

"What about Glee rehearsal?" Dean reminds his older brother.

"Can't Beth take you home?" Casey uncharacteristically whines.

Jesse shakes his head no, feeling sorry for his younger brother because he always wants to sit in the front seat in any car, but can't because he's still too young. Beca and Jesse's eyes meet for a split second and he's searching her eyes for a reaction but she remains with a blank expression on her face.

Cam also notices the eye contact between Beca and Jesse from beside Dean, but keeps her smile hidden from everyone. She then turns and smiles at Casey sweetly, "Casey, you're not old enough to sit in the front yet; your mom's told you that before." She looks at Beca and says, "We can sit in the back with him," pointing at herself and Dean. "Spidey can sit in the middle to control the radio from the back," she reasons.

The boys agree with Cam's seating arrangement, while Casey complains about his age, and they all head to Beca's car. Beca feels bad for Casey because as the youngest child, he's doesn't have the same privileges yet. She makes a promise with Casey to give him _eternal dibs _on shotgun once he's old enough. Although she whispered it to Casey outside of the car, Dean somehow hears her and starts to complain when they drive away from Pace.

"What about me?" Dean asks, leaning towards Beca in the driver's seat.

Cam scoffs and jokes, "How did you even hear them? 'Spidey senses tingling?'"

Dean shoots Cam a glare but she smiles brightly in return. Beca laughs at both of them. "Dean, in two years, you'll be taking Driver's Ed to get your permit and you won't care about me driving you around anyways," Beca argues.

Dean contemplates this idea and he seems to accept it with a smile. "Okay, that sounds probable…BUT I want some personal 'Beca Mixes' for my future car."

"Personal 'Beca Mixes?'" Cam glances between Dean and Beca confused.

Dean covers his mouth with his hand in exaggerated shock. He removes his hand and shouts, "Oh wow, Cam, Beca _makes _music! You have to hear it," Dean says excitedly and reaches for Beca's iPod.

Cam looks towards her and smiles, "Seriously?" Beca shrugs and nods casually but Cam notices that Beca has started to nervously tap on the steering wheel. "That's so cool," Cam reassures her. Dean chooses a mix and everyone can hear the faint sounds of the beginning beat of _Just The Way You Are_. "Oh, I love this song!" she shrieks.

Beca glances at Dean through the rearview mirror and he has a satisfied smile on his face. "Interesting choice," she mutters lightly, only loud enough for Dean to hear and their eyes meet in the mirror. Beca smiles warmly at Dean and he smiles shyly in return. Beca is impatient to talk to Dean privately, but as the lyrics begin, Cam starts singing along.

Beca ears perk up when she hears her sing. _She has a great voice. Wow. _Cam sings along to the music, hitting the notes perfectly, all the while Dean is smiling at her, mesmerized by her voice. Beca sees Cam nudge Dean to encourage him to join in, but he refuses. Cam catches Beca's eyes and silently gestures for help.

As _Just A Dream_ starts mixing in, Beca picks up the song and starts singing too. All of the Swanson boy's heads turn towards her. Casey, always willing to have fun and play along, starts singing along with Beca. Cam is still trying to get Dean to sing along with her, but Beca's focus is now on the boy sitting less than two feet beside her. She can feel Jesse's stare on the side of her face and it's distracting her from the lyrics of the song. She meets his gaze as she sings _"I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me, thinking 'bout us, what we gon' be."_ She breaks their eye contact when she finally hears Dean singing lightly behind them. Beca turns up the volume as they all sing along to her mix, except for Jesse.

They arrive at the Swanson house and pile out of the car quickly. She walks with the kids to the house and when they're all inside, she closes the door behind her but Jesse's foot stops it from shutting in his face. He smiles at her as he steps around the door and heads upstairs. _I thought he lived outside?_

As she watches him walk to the third floor, Casey pulls her along to the kitchen as Dean and Cam race to pile up on snacks. Dean is shoving chips into various dips and popping them into his mouth, Cam is warming up leftover pasta, and Casey is opening up a Lunchables box. Beca is staring at them with eyebrows raised and an amused smile, "Whoa! At this rate, you're going to end up eating the plates. How are you all so hungry already?"

"It's Meatloaf Monday," Cam says as she makes a repulsed face. "So we obviously skipped lunch." Dean nods and tries to speak around the food in his mouth, but Cam places her hand over his mouth and shakes her head no.

"Gross," Beca and Cam say in unison staring at Dean.

Dean slows his attack on the chips before attempting to speak again. "Sorry. Apparently, our school is trying to adopt a new health initiative and it all started today. Mondays will forever be known as Meatloaf Monday."

The girls rolled their eyes at his dramatic tone. Beca walks over and reaches into one of the drawers by the kitchen sink. "If that's the case," Beca says while pulling out the takeout menus and displaying them in front of the three starving kids, "order some food for tonight." She nodded towards Dean and continued, "Your mom texted me and said she'll be home late anyways."

Dean and Casey quickly pick out their favorite menus and race upstairs to consult with Jesse. As the thumping grows fainter the more the kids make their way to the third floor, Cam and Beca grab the newly heated pasta and sit down at the small island to dig in.

They are eating eagerly in a comfortable silence, but after a few minutes, both speak up at the same time.

"So what's the deal- " Beca starts to say.

"How do you like-" Cam speaks out.

Both girls laugh and gesture for the other to go first. Eventually, Cam caves first and starts again.

"I was just going to ask, how do you like working for the Swansons so far?" Cam tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear in discomfort, "I don't mean to pry—after all, it's none of my business—but Dean and Casey really like you. Casey talks about you all the time and Dean wouldn't shut up this morning about Friday's Riff-Off."

Beca looks at Cam in surprise, "He really didn't?"

Cam smiles at the warmth (and love?) in Beca's expression and nods to confirm. "He even reenacted your rapping skills to _No Diggity_. He was very impressed, and with Spidey that's hard to do," she expressed honestly.

"Well," Beca starts to answer, "I really do like working here. It's awesome and now that 'Spidey,'" Beca gestures quotes around Dean's nickname, "has warmed up to me, it's even better. I could see myself working for the Swansons for a while."

Cam smiled in relief at Beca's words. She knew that after _the Julia thing_, Dean lost a lot of faith in people and was now very reluctant to let people in anymore. It hurt to see her best friend so closed off, but she never blamed him. After Cam found out about _the Julia thing_, she was pretty pissed at Julia too. As summer went on, she noticed Dean becoming more and more stressed and he tried to keep his distance from her until she—literally—smacked some sense into him. Luckily, he stopped pushing her away but then he turned on his family. Seeing him act so cold towards Jesse and his parents made Cam's heart break for him, and since then, she felt more protective of Dean. Once school started, Cam tried to help Dean to move beyond the events of the summer and to focus his energy on school and sports, and everything was going great (despite the cycle of nannies that were coming and going because of his pranks) until Casey mentioned Beca casually to her the Monday she started working. Dean had instantly started acting cold at the mention of Beca's name and Cam had to _force him_ to skip homeroom that day. It was then that Cam realized that Dean had tried to scare her off, but he relented for a reason unknown to him. He confided in her that he actually thought Beca looked _cool_ when he saw her at his house. Cam understood immediately that Dean was unconsciously starting to accept Beca on his own terms. She was so giddy that it annoyed Dean but Cam knew it was only a matter of time. In her moment of excitement, she had almost forgotten that it was crucial for Beca to be _different _than Julia. Now, Cam was absolutely sure of it, and despite the fact that she had scolded Dean during homeroom about telling Beca about Julia, she realized maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if Beca knew after all.

After a few more bites of pasta, and straightening her thoughts out, Cam reminded Beca that she had tried to say something to her as well.

"He definitely doesn't want me to know the story, but what's the deal with the 'Spidey' nickname?" Beca asked with curiosity laced in her voice.

Cam dropped her fork on her plate with a loud rattle after hearing the question. She peered up at Beca, seeing her raised eyebrow and a look of concern. She stood up and walked to the doorway and looked up at the stairs. Hearing everything still and quiet above, she walked back to island and sat down next to Beca again. "You're right… he probably doesn't want you to know, but it's totally harmless," Cam said shrugging her shoulders.

"This is going to be interesting," Beca smirked.

"It's not _that _bad but Dean likes to keep it under wraps for fear of 'ruining his reputation.'" Cam laughs along with Beca, both girls knowing how seriously Dean feels about his reputation—even in middle school. "I don't have the heart to tell him that no one pays any attention to his self-created reputation." The girls laugh together again, but stop abruptly when they hear thumping from the floor above them.

"Cam?" The girls trade nervous glances when they hear Dean's voice from the second floor.

Cam walks into the foyer, in view of Dean. "What's up Spidey?"

"My brothers and I decided on pizza. Is that okay with you and Beca?"

Cam holds up a single finger, signaling him to wait as she walks back into the kitchen. She nods to Beca, "Did you hear what he said?" Beca tells Cam that she's okay with anything so she walks back and tells Dean exactly that, making sure he's completely inside a room before walking back into the kitchen to continue her talk with Beca.

"That was close," she says as she plops down into her seat again. "But anyways, I call him Spidey for several reasons," she starts explaining. "First, he's completely obsessed with superhero movies and his favorite superhero is Spiderman." At the mention of "superhero movies," Beca's eyebrows raise high into her forehead, but she stays silent and let's Cam continue. "He insists that one of the reasons we're best friends is because my last name is Parker and, of course, Spiderman is Peter Parker. I don't know where he gets his crazy ideas, but Jesse's rubbed off on him and he says it's 'fate.'" Beca gives Cam an incredulous look, but Cam raises her hand. "I know. They're both completely nuts but they're Swansons so I don't blame them. There's something _biological_ about the corniness that runs in this family."

Beca laughs and shakes her head furiously in agreement. "I KNOW, RIGHT?! I thought families like this only existed on T.V." Cam giggles in agreement and Beca asks, "Okay so why else do you call him Spidey? You said there are several reasons."

Cam stops laughing again and visibly gets nervous, twirling a long lock of her hair between her thumb and index fingers. "Um, well I don't know exactly _why_—Dean refuses to tell me cause I'm sure he knows I wouldn't keep it to myself—ironic, isn't it?—anyways, he is… kind of…" Cam lowers her voice and mumbles something quickly, hoping Beca catches it so she doesn't have to repeat it.

"Huh?" Beca's eyebrows fall in confusion.

Cam sighs and leans in close to Beca's ear, "Dean is… _terrified_ of spiders." Cam pulls back quickly to observe Beca's reaction. She remains still, unblinking. "Did you hear me?"

Beca nods slowly, but keeps a blank expression. Her eyes wander around the room, looking at everything but Cam. After a few beats of silence, Beca turns her whole body to face Cam. "By _terrified_, you mean?"

"He has a phobia," she answers casually.

"A phobia? Like a _real _phobia?" Beca asks for clarification.

Cam nods again. "Yeah, it's not your regular, run-of-the-mill _fear_ of spiders where you usually jump away or scream when you see one. It's a problem. He turns as white as a sheet and he becomes paralyzed in place. When I found out," Cam stops explaining, looks around and listens carefully before leaning towards Beca's ear again, "he even… _cried_."

Beca audibly gasps in disbelief. "No!" Beca stares at Cam and she shakes her head in complete honesty. Beca tries to wrap her head around the visual of Dean's phobia of spiders but she can't. She tries to speak but her words come out in stutters; she's completely speechless. _I didn't see that coming._ Beca opens her mouth, intending to speak again, but closes it once again. She does this for a few minutes until she gives up and just sits back in contemplation.

"I felt dazed too," Cam admits, breaking the silence. "Well, _after _I stopped laughing."

"Why did you laugh?" Beca finally manages.

"Because… he didn't see it coming, it snuck up on him, and he squealed Beca! Squealed!" she emphasizes. "It was dangling above his head, coming down from its spider web. He opened his eyes, saw the spider inches from his face, _squealed_—I cannot emphasize that part enough—and then karate chopped the air until the spider fell on his face… hence, the crying."

Beca took it all in, slowly processing it. _He squealed… because of a spider. Definitely didn't see that coming._ "I don't even know what to do with that information. It's just… wow."

"What's wow?" they hear behind them.

"Ah!" The girls jump out of their seats in response, instantly looking guilty to the boys.

"He- hey! We didn't hear any of you coming," Beca says calmly.

"We got that from the jumping," Dean states obviously, looking between the girls suspiciously. "What were you two talking about?"

The girls don't dare trade glances because they know neither has an answer. Beca's eyes move to Casey's and he smiles as his face lights up with an idea.

"Maybe they were talking about your birthday?" Casey offers.

Dean groans dramatically. "No! Please, gosh, no." He runs a hand down his face and walks up to them. "Cam, don't drag Beca into your party planning ideas. I said no party," Dean reminds her.

"And why not?" Beca asks, relieved in the sudden change of topic, winking at Casey.

"Thirteen is a big deal Spidey! You're going to be a teenager and you haven't had a birthday party since you turned 10," Cam says excitedly.

"_Birthday_. Parties. Are. LAME."

Beca shakes her head in annoyance at Dean's tone. "Dude, parties can be pretty cool. It doesn't have to be the same kind of parties you had when you were younger: no piñata (_Do people still use those?_), no kid games, and less family." Beca turns towards Casey and Jesse who are standing behind the island now and says to them, "No offense." She catches Jesse's smile before she turns back around to face Dean, "So what do you say?"

"Hmm," Dean stalls. "What else can you think of?"

Beca and Cam trade approving glances and Cam hugs Dean in excitement. _I guess I'm planning a party_.

* * *

After staying late at the Swanson's house to talk to Berry and Meryl, Beca and Dean got their permission to throw a party for his birthday. Dean pleaded with his parents to have no chaperones and they agreed _on the condition_ that Beca and Jesse are left in charge. Beca was not too thrilled about that, but she was pleasantly shocked when Dean asked her to be the DJ at the party. With Cam's help, they convinced her to do it and rented the necessary equipment. All three of them, Casey and Jesse pitching in here and there, created the invitations, hired caterers, ordered a few bounce houses and any other necessary accessories to go with the theme of the party: Project XIII. (Beca hadn't been too surprised when Dean jokingly referred to his party as "the next _Project X_," but Cam had actually liked the idea.)

By the time Beca picked up the boys and Cam from school on Friday, Pace was buzzing with news of Dean's party—even the upper school was talking about it.

Dean and Cam quickly slipped into the backseat and pulled Casey in behind them when Beca pulled up to Pace's main parking lot. "Go, go, go!"

"What's wrong?" Beca asked, stressing the worried tone in her voice.

Cam roughly elbowed Dean in the side, "Tell her what you did Dean."

Beca had never heard Cam call Dean by his name _to him_. She figured that he must have screwed up somehow and therefore she didn't use the name Spidey. Strangely, the nickname stemming from his love of Spiderman and phobia of spiders was a term of affection she used for him.

Dean looked guiltily at Cam but when she ignored his gaze and instead kept her attention outside the window, he turned to Beca feeling defeated. "I messed up," he started.

From beside him, Cam muttered under her breath, "Obviously."

Dean ignored the knot in his stomach that he only felt when Cam was upset or disappointed in him and explained to Beca, "It was an accident. I finished handing out the invitations to the 30 people that my mom and dad agreed on, but there was an extra invitation with no name." Beca nodded at Dean to continue but then she grimaced at the memory of that extra invitation. "Well, I remember Jesse was going to invite some of his friends to the party to help out—cause you know, 30 kids is a lot for just two people—so during lunch I went to the upper school and slipped the invitation into Beth's locker, but- "

"But it wasn't even Beth's locker," Cam cut him off. She ignored his gaze again and met Beca's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Do you remember what that extra invite had on it?"

"Dean… you didn't," Beca begged. She remembered perfectly what the extra invite looked like.

On Tuesday, Beca and Cam had started looking up invitation templates for a party. Dean got impatient really quickly until he spotted one he actually liked. Unfortunately, they couldn't use the template because it included a rave theme with the words BYOB permanently set into the template. Dean complained and nagged until the girls had agreed to make a mock-up of an invitation which Dean would have to keep to himself. The invitation included the address of the house, it advertised _No Adults_, and had several other "typos" that Dean added in to be funny.

Cam looked at Dean this time and nodded, "Yeah, he did. The invite ended up in some random jock's locker and before lunch period was even over, there was a mass text going around about a _rager_ at the Swanson house. B-Y-O-B," she reiterated. "Jesse left school early for a Glee competition at another school so WE had to handle all the mayhem." Cam reached into her pockets and turned on her cell phone. As soon as the phone was on, it started ringing nonstop.

"Answer your phone," Beca said, turning down the volume of the stereo.

"Oh, no one's calling me Beca... the ringing is all the missed text alerts from the people who received that mass text. I'm getting RSVPs from people I've never heard of," Cam shrieks.

"Okay, everybody just relax," Beca stated, hoping to release the tension between the two pre-teens and calm her own nerves about the impending chaos that would involve hundreds of drunken high-schoolers in the Swanson's home. "What about your parents? I'm sure they can help."

"No!" Dean yells as they pull in front of the gates of his home. "They left this morning to that health spa thing they scheduled and I don't want them to know that I messed up so bad."

Cam rolled her eyes, in anger and annoyance. "News flash Dean! We can't handle this situation on our own. JESSE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW YET," she reminded him.

"CALM DOWN!" Casey suddenly yells from beside them.

The car is now parked in front of the garage and everyone just sits back in their seats and looks at Casey. Beca had almost forgotten that he was in the car. Usually, he can't help but put his two cents in. This time, he had been eerily quiet on the ride home.

Casey smiles, showing no remorse for yelling at all of them, "Dean, you have friends in the upper school because of basketball and Jesse, so it's not a big deal if those people show up. As for everyone else, we have a huge gate with a security alarm; it's not that hard to keep people out," Casey points behind them to the white gates surrounding the property. "We should move the party completely outside to make enough room for everyone and keep people from ruining the house. The woods will muffle the sound from the neighbors so we won't get complaints and… I don't know what BYOB means but we can solve that problem too."

Casey stops talking and looks at the other three people in the car. "What?" he asks innocently and oblivious to his brilliance.

The girls smile at him, relief clear on their faces.

Dean's mouth is slightly open in surprise. "He's 10! How does he have the answer to _everything_?!" Dean says to no one in particular.

* * *

By 6 o'clock, the party had started and there were around 60 people at the Swanson house. Thankfully, Cam and Beca had gone around the neighborhood knocking on people's doors to let them know about the party and to call in case the music got too loud. After Dean had calmed down, and lectured Casey about yelling at his elders, he had annoyed the girls with allusions to _Project X_, which included their "warnings" to the neighbors. He was finally excited for his party and Cam had forgiven him for his slip up.

When people started arriving, Beca and Jesse screened people at the gate and let them in if they were friends or invites, but no one was allowed in with any alcohol and they sent the groups of party goers away. Fortunately, Jesse's friends showed up quickly and were able to point most of the disappointed (or _angry_) partyers to another house party they had heard about. Things were going smoothly and after enough people showed up, they stopped guarding the gates.

The party was set up very similarly to Thomas Kub's house. The DJ station was set up on the large porch deck, there was a dance floor placed in the grass between the porch and the pool, and they had bouncy houses surrounding the backyard (and also set up as boundaries to keep the invitees from going into the woods).

Beca had been determined to stay behind the DJ station which had a great view of the entire party—even at her height—but Dean, Cam, or Casey would pull her away to make introductions or to help refill food or drinks. Eventually, she gave up that plan and set the DJ equipment on a playlist of Dean's favorite mixes. He had talked her into using her own mixes for the music and he picked out a personal playlist for himself. She even taught Dean how to use the mixing board they had rented and he had used it to fool around with a few songs. They were all having a great time.

During another refill run, Beca made her way inside the house but stayed in the kitchen for a quick break from all the party management. As she sat in one of the island stools, the back door to the veranda opened and Cam joined her inside.

Cam snatched a pile of flyers on the kitchen table and started fanning her face. "Oh wow. It is so hot outside."

Beca walked over to the refrigerator and took out two cold water bottles and handed one to Cam as she walked back to the island. "I'm glad we agreed with Casey and moved it outside. It would be boiling in here," she pointed inside the house.

"Very true," Cam agreed quickly before she chugged half of the cold water.

"Having fun?" Beca asked with an amused expression on her face.

Cam thinks about the answer carefully then replies, "Yeah, I think so. It's a great party and I've been trying to talk Spidey into asking his parents for one for a while. … Got my wish."

Beca thought she might be picking up on an underlying message so she decided to take a chance and ask. "Why did you want him to have a party so badly?"

Cam froze with the bottle at her lips. She didn't move, but then casually drank the rest of the water. "We're pre-teens… any excuse to party right?" Cam tried to act coolly but even she didn't believe herself. She looked at Beca and she was staring back at her with an eyebrow raised, not buying her nonchalance. "Okay, maybe not."

"If it's something _private _between the two of you, I understand- "

Cam quickly shook her head no. "It's not that." She looked to be contemplating her next words carefully before saying them to Beca. "I just think he needed… a pick-me-up, that's all."

"Why? Dean doesn't seem like the type of person to need one… unless it involves spiders, of course." When that barely got a small smile from Cam, Beca became more concerned. _What could have happened to Dean?_ Beca watched Cam's eyes gaze away, lost in thought. Cam's eyes slowly changed from their regular, chocolate-brown shade to a darker, almost black, shade. She thought Cam was remembering something unpleasant, so she lightly placed her hand on Cam's shoulder. "Cam?"

Cam snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry. What were you saying?" As if the past few moments had never happened, her eyes became their regular shade again.

"What aren't you telling me?" she finally blurted out. Beca knew that every family had their fair share of secrets, but since she started working for the Swansons, she would catch glimpses of a darkness hanging over them somehow. It both frightened her but also caused her to want to protect them as if they were _her family_.

"I don't think I should be the one to tell you. I mean, it's definitely not the right time or place to mention it. I only know what Dean's told me."

_She said Dean again, not Spidey._ "Cam… please. I can't just ask Berry or Meryl about it and Dean tried to tell me once, but-"

"I know. He told me," Cam admits. Cam studies Beca's eyes and sees genuine concern in them, so she speaks up. "Before I say _anything_—and in case Dean's lack of manners don't remind him—you should know how much all of this means to Dean after everything that's happened in the last six months… and it's all because of _you_."

Beca blinks in response, unsure how to respond to a compliment like _that_.

Cam notices Beca fidgeting uncomfortably, so she spares her any more discomfort and tells her what she knows, "It's nothing _light_, Beca. You need to understand that the Swansons haven't been the same since she left. They appear to be this tight-knit, strong family—and they are most of the time, don't get me wrong—but they're broken now."

Beca is taken aback at Cam's bluntness and vaguely remembers what Dean tried to tell her only a week ago.

_"There was _one _nanny… before you and it wasn't a good goodbye. ... S__he's __the reason why I didn't want to like you, why I didn't want to be at Barden… _She ruined everything_."_

"What did she do?" Beca whispered lightly.

Cam took a deep breath before speaking again. "In Dean's words, she _betrayed _them." Cam shrugs, not exactly knowing what that means either, but she does tell Beca what she remembers about her. "She lived in this neighborhood with her family. All of our families were friends and the boys and I grew up with her even though she's like five years older than Jesse. She used to be our babysitter when she was in high school. I would come here every day and she would be dropped off with us. She was always a really good friend."

Cam's eyes turned hazy at the mention of the word _friend_, so Beca knew that Cam wasn't just speaking about the boys' relationship to this nanny, but of her own relationship to her as well.

"Mr. and Mrs. Swanson loved her like she was their daughter and they were so grateful for her help and how great she was with the boys. She helped them-" Cam stopped, searching for the right word, "_break out_ of their shells—I guess that's the best way to put it. Jesse was always a performer, but he never had much confidence in himself even though _everyone_ would tell him as much."

Beca held her tongue at that fact. It was hard for her to picture Jesse as anything other than the confident—dare she say arrogant—boy that she found herself butting heads with lately.

"That obviously changed as you can tell, but it was because of her. No one knew—at the time—why her opinion was the one that gave Jesse the courage to try out for the Glee Club. When he passed his audition, we all celebrated and knew it was because of _her_. After that, the Swansons believed that she just had 'a gift' with children," Cam's tone darkened as she said the last sentence and gestured the quotes. "With enough work, she pushed Dean to sign up for basketball tryouts. He _used to_ keep to himself a lot, even though he always had so much energy throughout the day. The Swansons thought he had ADHD at first, but _she just knew_ that he would be the perfect athlete. She practiced with him every day, and on the day of tryouts, she was in the stands cheering him on. It's safe to assume he made the team," she smiled lightly. "He was so excited that he signed up for more sports tryouts and made _every team_. He had his outlet for all his energy, and since Pace requires a certain GPA to be on sports teams, it kept him motivated to do his schoolwork too."

Beca smiled along with Cam, knowing very well that it was a struggle to get Dean to sit still long enough to get his homework done on a daily basis.

"_She _was always Dean's loudest cheerleader at all his games and he never lost with her in the stands. He called her a good luck charm," Cam smiled sadly. "And then of course, there's Casey."

Beca perked up at the mention of the youngest Swanson boy. Without hearing the other nanny's impact on Casey, she already felt a pang of jealously. Casey was her biggest supporter at keeping this job and she had grown attached to him, despite her attempts against it. Since Casey was still so young, she couldn't imagine what the other nanny had helped Casey with.

Cam put her mind to rest as she continued, "I know you can't tell by talking to him now—especially how close he is to you—but Casey used to be _really _shy." Seeing Beca's disbelief, Cam quickly explained. "When I say shy, I don't mean mumbling under his breath and blushing red whenever a girl was around. I mean shy in terms that he _NEVER_ talked… _to anyone_, except Mrs. Swanson. He never even uttered a word to Mr. Swanson." Cam waited for that fact to sink in; it was still hard for her to remember a time when Casey _wouldn't _talk. "Casey was harder for her to help, but the Swansons believed that if anyone could help Casey, that _she could_. To this day, no one knows exactly how she did it—we've all asked Casey, and after everything that happened, not even a child psychologist could get him to explain how. Apparently they made a _pinky promise_ to keep it a secret between them, and since then, pinky promises have meant everything to Casey."

Beca nodded, unsure of what else to do, but taking her time to process all the information she was receiving.

"After that, she was considered a saint. It was like she could do no wrong; I even fell for it." Cam shook her head, cursing herself for falling for this _act_ that this girl put on for everybody. "She worked for the Swansons all throughout high school and we all showed up to her graduation. The boys were all so sad to see her move away to college, but they were older and knew it was bound to happen; it didn't stop them from complaining though," Cam rolled her eyes at the memories. "They all managed the first year she left and things were going great. She didn't come home for the holidays so that was disappointing but I like to think that they were moving on. Plus, the boys knew that at the end of the school year, she would most likely be back for summer vacation… and they were right. _She did come back_, but for good."

Beca recalls Dean telling her that the other nanny had gone to Barden while she was babysitting for them. _What is her name? Maybe I know her…_

"Her family had moved away the year that she was gone, but it didn't stop her from coming back here and seeing the Swansons again. Dean told me she transferred to Barden and was instantly rehired to babysit for the Swansons, starting in the summer. I don't know about what happened when she came back but all I remember is that she wouldn't talk about her year away from home or why she had decided to come back. Dean said he could tell she was different."

Beca could feel that the worst part of the story happened sometime after she had come back to Atlanta. "How did she betray them Cam?"

"Dean wouldn't tell me. I've tried to get him to even hint at it, but Mr. and Mrs. Swanson told them that they can't mention anything about what happened or they'll be in trouble, _serious _trouble," Cam hinted. When Beca just shrugs in misunderstanding, Cam says, "All I know is that one week, she was living in the apartment above the garage—the one Jesse lives in now—and the next week she's gone and the police are showing up at the Swanson's front door asking about her."

"_POLICE?!_" Beca voices her thoughts out loud, loud enough for people by the kitchen windows to hear her above the music.

Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones who hear her loud cry because in a matter of moments, Dean and Casey walk inside looking for them.

"Did someone call the cops?!" Dean asks frantically.

"What? NO. Don't be silly," Cam clears up.

Dean visibly relaxes and looks between the two girls. "Are you two catching up on 'girl talk' again? Now's not the time for that… there's a party outside!"

Dean grabs Cam's hands and starts dragging her towards the door. "Spidey! We were talking," Cam informs him.

Beca smiles at the reappearance of Dean's nickname, but she can't shake off the weight of all this information about the other nanny. She wants to stop Dean and ask Cam more questions, but she knows that she can't answer them. Cam's told her what she knows and she either needs to figure out the rest, or get someone else to fill in the blanks. She stands up, grabs Casey's hand and another two water bottles from the refrigerator—handing one to Casey—and heads outside to supervise while she thinks of a way to figure out the rest of the story. _AND HER NAME!_

Beca and Casey walk back to the DJ stand to add more songs and liven up the playlist. Beca's proud that there are still people dancing actively to her music and recalls all the compliments she's received on her mixes. This was a big step for Beca; even if she's only playing music for a bit over 60 people, _they like it_, and it's 60 more people who have heard her music.

Beca's all smiles as she and Casey play with the DJ equipment, then Jesse comes up the porch steps to stand with them.

"Are you taking any requests?" Jesse smiles glowingly at her. Even under the intense neon lights surrounding the DJ booth and dance floor, his smile is the brightest thing she sees.

"Sure… if it doesn't suck," Beca challenges with a smirk.

Jesse accepts the challenge and shouts, "Do you have any David Guetta?"

Beca's jaw drops. She remembers the day she came to interview for the job, Jesse was in the apartment above the garage and playing David Guetta's _Titanium_, but she didn't see him then and she's really hoping that this is a coincidence and not his way of referring to that moment.

"What?" Jesse asks arrogantly, believing that he's stumped her. "Please tell me you know who David Guetta is?! Have you been living under a rock?"

"Dude, no! I love David Guetta," she blurts out defensively.

Jesse smiles in response. "Then how come I haven't heard any tonight, DJ?"

"Dean made a playlist for Beca to play for the party," Casey speaks up.

Beca frowns, recalling that this is the _second _time that she has forgotten about Casey's presence. She steps back and motions for him to move in front of her, placing him in front of the laptop and _coincidentally_ blocking the small space between her and Jesse. As Beca shows Casey how to add some David Guetta music into the playlist, Jesse hovers over her shoulder, seemingly watching as well. She doesn't dare turn around for fear of seeing how close he is to her, but she starts to feel his warm breath closer and closer to her neck. Instinctively, she moves away and grabs her water bottle from the other side of the mixing board. She turns to see Jesse unaffected and now resting his head on his younger brother's head as Casey plays with the laptop. _Get. A. Grip!_

In an attempt to appear busy, Beca scans the crowd to make sure all is well and no restocking is needed yet. She spots Dean and Cam dancing to the current song. Although they're dancing with a group of friends, all his attention is on her. He's spinning her around, pulling her in, and dancing crazy with her. Similarly, Beca notices that while Cam appears to be dancing around her other friends, she always stays closer to Dean than anyone else. It's as if these two are magnets, never straying too far from each other. Even while they're dancing, they keep their hands intertwined—whether consciously or not—and never let go.

"Cute, aren't they?" Jesse says beside here.

Beca's startled at getting caught watching Dean and Cam together, but she's more surprised that she's not the only one who sees _it_, whatever _it _is that's between those two. "You think so too?"

"Yeah of course," Jesse agrees. "I've been trying to tell him to act on it for a few years but he's convinced she doesn't feel the same way."

"Is he blind?!" Beca exclaims.

Jesse laughs softly, not loud enough for Beca to hear, but she can tell by the smooth shaking of his shoulders. "It's funny how you can tell when a person likes someone else, but you can't when someone likes you," he stated plainly.

"We're still talking about Cam and Dean, right?" Beca jokes. _Where did that come from?!_ Beca closes her eyes in frustration and hopes that the music may have drowned out her question. She opens her eyes and it appears that Jesse is surprised at her words.

"I don't know… are we?"

Beca tries to swallow past the knot in her throat but it doesn't work. _Nice job, Beca._ "Um-"

They're suddenly interrupted as a blonde walks up behind Jesse and steps in between them. _Whoa, where did she come from?_ She looks at Beca straight in the face, and although Beca's never been one to be intimidated, she takes a step back.

"Um, do you have a request?" Beca asks the blonde.

"No," she replies curtly.

Beca's impressed by the girl's audacity but she doesn't even know who this girl is. "Can I help you with something then," Beca bites back.

Casey (_Dammit! Where was he before she showed up?_) steps in between these girls and stands in front of Beca, looking up at the blonde. She smiles sweetly at him but Casey doesn't smile back.

Fortunately, Jesse's had enough of this stare-off so he cuts in from behind the girl. "Beth, what are you doing?"

The blonde turns her head to look at Jesse, but doesn't move from her position, "I came to see what was taking so long with the song request and it looked like-" she looks down at Casey and lowers her voice, "you needed some help."

Jesse sighs at his girlfriend's transparency. Despite what Beth tried to convince him of, he knew she was the jealous type, but this time he didn't blame her because he was getting pretty comfortable with Beca. He had tortured himself over the bra comment but he couldn't get over Beca's reaction of him leaning so close to her; he didn't understand what is was and it had been bugging him ever since. Shaking off those thoughts for now, Jesse remembered his manners and thought that now was the perfect time to introduce the two girls in front of him. "Beth… this is Beca," he gestures toward Beca, "Dean and Casey's new nanny."

Beth smiles in relief, remembering the first time she saw her at Pace picking up the boys. "Hi."

"Beca… this is Beth," Jesse introduces.

"Hi," Beca smiles back at Beth.

"…my girlfriend," Jesse finishes.

Beca's eyes almost pop out of her head at the word girlfriend. _Oh fuck._

* * *

**AN: Hello again! Please don't crucify me or worse. I've tried to keep up with a consistent update schedule but… life happens! Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. I know the last time I introduced Beth, some readers didn't like the way she came off and I'm sure the way I wrote this won't change people's mind but don't judge her too quickly. She has her reasons for being the way she is, and I'll reveal those reasons… in due time ;) ! Beth's not meant to have a big role in this fic (at least not the way I've planned it) but if you like the little triangle I've created, that may change.**

**I apologize in advance for the format fanfic will use for the texting. If it's confusing let me know! Also this is a pretty long chapter and a lot happens. Let me know your reactions and thoughts to it all! There's a bit more revealed on Julia, more Cam and Dean, Dean's birthday party (which is not over yet), Beca meets Beth, etc! Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Elephants in the Room

**I may be the only person super excited about this but this story has reached over 100 followers! All the support and love I get about MS makes my heart happy! Thank you for following! :) you're all aca-awesome!**

**Also, I thought I'd explain some things from the last chapter to ease your minds: Julia never harmed Dean or Casey in any way. The "'gift' with children" that Cam mentioned and the pinky promise Julia made with Casey is not **_**code**_** for bad things done to children. (Yes, I'm that immature that I won't even write it out, but you know what I mean!)**

**FYI, responses to Guest reviews are at the bottom!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything familiar, but I do own the plot and any original characters.**

* * *

Jesse's suddenly uncomfortable introducing Beth, _especially_ after seeing Beca react so… he can't even pinpoint the emotion that crossed her face. All he knows is that he's instantly nervous and his hands are getting sweaty. He shoves his hands into his pockets and glances between Beth and Beca. Both girls are still smiling at each other; Beth's smile out of relief and Beca's smile is out of discomfort.

He mimics Beca's feelings and jumps at the chance to avoid further awkwardness. "Hey Beth, why don't we go dance?" Jesse suggests as he hears the beginning of a David Guetta mix.

Beth shrieks in excitement and wraps her arm around Jesse's to pull him along to the dance floor as she calls out to some of their friends.

Jesse turns around to glance at Beca. Her eyes are closed and her hands are at her sides in fists. _She looks upset._ He feels a rush of guilt and wonders why he suddenly feels like releasing Beth's hand and going to comfort Beca. He notices her hands loosen and then she rakes her hands through her hair in frustration but it dissipates when Casey jumps back in front of her to play with the DJ equipment. Jesse sees her smile gratefully and hugs him from behind as she points at the screen.

He knows it's silly but he feels the slightest hint of jealousy that it was _Casey's_ presence that relaxed her and that it was his and Beth's presence that set her on edge. He turns back around as he tries to shake off the tension from his shoulders and he's suddenly surrounded by people on the dance floor. At this point, he wants to let himself get lost to the beat of the music—forgetting about Dean's mishap with the extra invitation, sending away his drunken classmates, the awkward introduction between Beca and Beth, Beca's reaction to their presence, and Beca's effect on him.

He's half-heartedly dancing with his girlfriend now, mostly shaking his head to the beat. That is, until he sees Benji standing off to the side of the dance floor watching everyone else have fun. He stealthily removes himself from the dance circle his friends have created and makes his way over to his quirky best friend, grateful for the distraction.

As soon as Benji spots him, a smile appears on his face. He actually looks relieved to have someone to talk to again. "What's up Benji? Why aren't you dancing and shaking that money-maker?" Jesse jokes.

Benji involuntarily blushes, reminding Jesse that he's uncomfortable with that kind of talk. "I don't dance, remember?"

Jesse considers Benji's words and tries to remember the last time he saw him dance. He can recall several dances at Pace throughout the years but cannot think of a single memory of Benji dancing. "C'mon dude, everyone can dance," he encourages. "This is the perfect place to start! Everyone else is paying attention to the music and no one's really watching each other."

Benji starts to reject his attempts but Beth interrupts them by jumping on Jesse's back.

Jesse's startled for a bit but when he sees blonde hair hanging in front of his face, he recognizes the stranger on his back and effortlessly holds Beth up and chuckles at Benji's startled look.

"Why do you keep running off?" Beth asks without any annoyance audible in her tone.

"I just came to check on Benji. I saw him standing over here all by himself," Jesse pouts. He knows Beth's always had a soft spot for Benji and she tries the hardest to make him feel included; he hopes that she'll be able to convince him to loosen up a little now. Jesse knows his plan is working when Beth slides off of him and grabs Benji's hand with no warning and is practically dragging him onto the dance floor. Jesse stays rooted in his spot and watches in amusement as Beth tries to get Benji to dance with her. She shakes his hips for him, moves his hands to the beat, and even throws in some _old school _moves to make him more comfortable. Eventually he caves and starts jumping around to the music. Jesse sends him a thumbs up when he catches Benji's eyes through the dance crowd. Benji waves for him to join but Jesse shakes his head no.

Since he's technically supposed to be a chaperone for this party, he walks over to the catering section and notices that they could use a refill on water bottles. He scans the rest of the section to make sure nothing else needs refilling and then makes his way into the house. He walks into the kitchen through the back door and heads straight to the refrigerator.

"Wait!"

Jesse freezes in front of the refrigerator, one hand gripping the handle but not pulling it open just yet. He turns to see Casey sitting on one of the island's stools, playing with the birthday candles and holding a matchbook. At the site of the matches, Jesse steps away from the refrigerator and takes a few steps towards his little brother. "What are you doing with matches Case?" he asked concerned.

"I'm holding them for a friend," he smirks.

Jesse laughs at his brother's line. "Very funny. I'm serious, though. No one's allowed to play with matches since Dean burned the kitchen's curtains," he says motioning for the little boy to hand them over.

Casey shrugs his shoulder indifferently and puts the matchbox in Jesse's palm. "I really was holding them for a friend: Beca. She put Dean's cake in the refrigerator and told me to guard it until she got back," he states firmly.

"Oh," Jesse says casually. "Why does she need you to guard it?" Jesse asks, remembering Dean's feelings about cake at his "grown-up party."

"So no one takes a peek, duh!" Casey shakes his head at Jesse's obliviousness. "She said the decoration is a surprise. Beca and Cam picked it out."

"Well we need to refill on water bottles outside and they're in there," he points at the refrigerator.

Casey smiles knowingly and says, "Fine… but don't say I didn't warn you."

Ignoring him, Jesse walks back to the refrigerator to grab the water bottles.

"Don't open that door!"

Jesse shoulders slump at getting caught red-handed. He shoots Casey a scowl when the little boy starts to laugh at him. "I just need to grab the water bottles. I won't look at the cake," he says towards the tiny brunette making her way into the kitchen, carrying two cases of water bottles.

Beca moves behind him, lightly pushing him out of the way to place the cases on the island. "The cake is in there," she informs him while trying to catch her breath.

She remains facing forward and doesn't even look over her shoulder when she talks to him. _Does she notice how awkward this is for me too?_ Jesse's a little irritated, more so over the continued awkward tension between them then over the cake-water bottle dilemma.

He tries to push past the tension instead. "Dean didn't want a cake," he reminds her, speaking slowly as if she was a child.

She eventually turns around with narrowed eyes pointed at him. "Dude, it's a surprise. We got one anyways and we're trying to keep it that way until 8."

He bites down a smile as he realizes that she's annoyed at _him _now. "Dean _hates _surprises Beca," he says matter-of-factly.

Beca seems unaffected by the revelation, standing her ground. "Well he'll suck it up cause it was Cam's idea and somehow I don't think he'll mind much if it's coming from her," she says triumphantly.

"Why?" Casey pipes up from his seat.

Jesse sends Beca a look that he hopes sends the message not to mention anything to Casey. He doesn't like excluding his youngest brother from secrets, but he has a tendency of unintentionally revealing information at the worst possible moments.

Fortunately, Beca gets the hint and distracts Casey by asking him to find Cam so that they can all set up the cake for the surprise. She sends him out the kitchen doors and walks back to the refrigerator and starts organizing the space inside to slide the cake out easier.

Jesse observes that they're back to the awkward, tension-filled silence. _Grow up_!he scolds her in his mind. As she's preoccupied (ignoring him, mostly), something Beca mentioned is rolling around in Jesse's mind so he blurts it out. "Why eight?"

"Hmm?" he hears her mumble uninterestedly from in front of the refrigerator.

"You said you're hiding the cake until eight… why eight?" Jesse repeats.

Beca turns to look at him and he sees alarm in her eyes, "Wait. He was born at 8 right? 8 _PM_?" She appears to be scrutinizing him for the slightest hint of an answer in his eyes. "Dude!"

"Yes! He was born at eight," Jesse gets out quickly. _Surprising him with a birthday cake at the exact time he was born in the day is actually kind of… sweet._ Jesse smiles sincerely at this side of Beca, one that he knows people probably don't get to see very often (_or at all_)—especially under that badass façade.

"What?" she finally asks hesitantly as she watches him still smiling at her.

"You're kind of sweet Beca."

Beca's eyes widen in alarm again, the same look she had when she was introduced to Beth. "What are you talking about?" she asks quietly in almost a whisper.

Jesse's smirk slowly transforms into a kind smile as he takes in her uneasiness at receiving compliments. "Well, you go out of your way to help Dean plan this 'non-birthday' party—which you're chaperoning even though you're 'off-the-clock'—you agree to DJ the party with your _personal_ mixes which you don't usually play for other people, you help him clean up his mistake when he accidentally invited all of Pace, and then on top of all of that, you secretly buy him a birthday cake—and I guarantee your planning on singing 'Happy Birthday'—which you're giving to him at the exact time he was born… I repeat: you're kind of a sweet person Beca."

She smiles shyly at his explanation, but when he still notices her discomfort, he adds, "I knew you weren't such a badass. You're like a teddy bear Beca!"

Unfortunately, Beca doesn't relax at the change of tone, but she responds anyways. "I am _not _a teddy bear."

"You kinda are," Jesse says still hoping to ease the tension in the room. "Think about it: to everyone else, you appear as a tough and scary bear… with an ear spike," he adds pointing to her ear and she doesn't even look up at him (_Why is she so uncomfortable around me now?_), "but on the inside, you're all soft and sweet… and non-threatening."

Beca reluctantly rolls her eyes at his clarification and doesn't even attempt a response as she turns her back on him to finish rearranging the refrigerator.

They wait in silence, Beca slowly moving the cake out of the refrigerator and Jesse fiddling with the candles. He can still feel the tension in the room and he rattles his brain looking for anything to say to get rid of the awkward silence. He's not sure what changed, but it started when she met Beth.

"So what do you think of Beth," he asks before he can think through his question. When Beca abruptly stops, he realizes he shouldn't have asked. _Too late now._

Beca goes back to shuffling things around in the refrigerator and Jesse wonders whether she's going to answer him or keep ignoring the question. He's about to attempt to ask _another _question, when she responds, "She seems really nice, I guess. Don't really know her and I haven't heard much from the boys."

The mention of hearing things about Beth from the boys peaks Jesse's interest. "You've asked Dean and Casey about Beth?"

Beca shifts her weight from one foot to the other, continuously fidgeting, before replying, "No! Not on… purpose."

Jesse arches his eyebrow as Beca looks over her shoulder at him. "So you asked… on accident then?"

Beca opens and closes her mouth a few times, seemingly trying to come up with a way to explain her confusing answer. "We were looking at pictures the other day, trying to get ideas from your thirteenth birthday and other parties-"

Jesse cuts her off, "You were looking at pictures from my past parties?!" Jesse freaks out for a bit, remembering _who _was in most of those pictures.

"No," Beca corrects him, "I tried to find pictures of your thirteenth birthday but Casey said those pictures were in your parent's room so we just looked at your fifteenth birthday instead."

Jesse let out a breath he was holding in. _Fifteenth birthday… that was freshman year and _she _was gone that year._ "Oh yeah, I had just joined the upper school's Glee Club and I met Beth that year."

At the mention of Beth again, Beca shifted in her place and then nodded absentmindedly, "Yup so she was in the pictures and Casey pointed out that it was Beth, 'the same Beth who missed Dean's game so you had to pay $45,'" she quoted Casey, "and then Dean mentioned a bit more, but not much."

"What did they say?" Jesse prodded.

Beca took a deep breath, wanting to mention everything once and then be done with the _elephant in the room_. "Just that she's a year older—a senior this year—and you started dating this summer, recently, whatever… and um, Casey and Dean's feelings about her."

Beca raced through the last part of the sentence, but Jesse caught it. Before he could ask further questions, Beca reached across the island and snatched the sparkler candles out of Jesse's hands, ignoring the hold Jesse almost caught her hand in but feeling the trace of his fingers on her skin.

Jesse picked up on her wish to change the subject, also ignoring the way he almost reflexively grabbed her hand in his when she reached for the candle. _What is wrong with me today?_

"I've never seen those candles before," Jesse said changing the subject again.

Beca nods but doesn't look at him and instead moves her attention back to the cake in the refrigerator. "Yeah I wouldn't think so. I drove to Athens to find those candles."

She said it in such a casual tone that Jesse almost didn't think twice about her words, but they registered clearly. "You drove an hour and a half to buy candles?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yup," she said, popping the p.

"Why?" he frowned.

Jesse knew his tone sounded heavy with apprehension and it was enough to make her turn around and face him again.

"Sorry? Did I do something wrong?" she asked him. He looked up at her questioningly. "Your face looks pained at what I just said," she responded, assuming she was answering his questioning look.

"I'm just- I don't- I don't understand," he eventually stuttered out.

Beca raised her eyebrows high. He knew he wasn't acting sane, but he wanted to know—to hear it from her—why she went to _Athens_ for _candles_.

"Really it's not a big deal. I couldn't find them in any party planning or decorating stores so I looked for the candles online and saw that a store in Athens sold them," she shrugged.

"Why didn't you just buy regular candles?" Jesse pushed.

Beca groaned. "I don't know Jesse. What answer do you want from me? I got those candles because they're different; they're not the usual, boring ones _everyone_ uses; Dean deserves better."

Jesse blinked away the shock, making sure he didn't make Beca uncomfortable again with a comment on how nice she actually is with his brothers. "Okay."

"Okay? That's all you have to say after you interrogated me about my choice in candles?"

Jesse stops staring at the candles in her hands and meets Beca's eyes. "Okay," he repeats slowly.

Beca continues to glare at him, so he adds, cautiously, "You really care." He states this but it comes out as more of a question.

Beca takes a few deep breaths and Jesse wonders what she's going to say, because he knows she wants to respond to him; he can see it in her eyes. "How bad did _she_ screw up… especially to make all of you believe that no one could possibly care about you anymore?" she asks with a serious, concerned look all over her face.

Jesse's breath caught in his throat. _She's not talking about… what else could she… how would she have…_ Jesse can't form complete thoughts and his mind is whirling with questions. He's hesitated for too long to look casual, so he decides to be honest with Beca.

"You have no idea."

* * *

Beca's watching him struggle with the shock plainly written on his face. He has no idea—no one does—that she knows more than she's "supposed to." She wasn't sure what kind of reaction to expect; she was maybe even hoping he'd deny it or explain that Cam's side of the events isn't as bad as it actually seems. Beca knows, however, that from the look on Jesse's face now and Dean and Cam's combined information, nothing about that situation _wasn't_ bad.

When he responds, she's shocked to see the honest expression on his face. Beca wants to press for more; she's craving to hear more about this other nanny—but she's not sure why. "Jesse…"

The kitchen's back doors open and Cam and Casey are walking inside. "You have to be more subtle next time, Casey." Cam looks at the scene in front of her: Jesse staring unblinkingly at Beca and slightly leaning towards her, while Beca is now resting her arms on the island and leaning towards Jesse as well.

"Um, Dean's a bit suspicious now and it's almost 8, so should we get the cake?" Cam said carefully, giving Beca the opportunity to either accept or decline the "out" to finish whatever was going on in the kitchen.

Beca pulls out her phone from her back pocket and checks the time: 7:57 PM. "Crap! Okay we have to get this cake out now and set up the candles," she directs to Cam. Beca then turns towards Casey and Jesse, "Go grab Dean and get him to stand next to the catering table. There should be a big enough space on the table to set up the cake." She was addressing them all now, "We have to make sure that Dean doesn't see the cake coming until the sparklers are on and people are singing happy birthday so someone has to warn the crowd not to be a dead giveaway."

"Benji can do it," Jesse offered quickly, knowing that the other boy won't like having to "order" so many people around but that people would listen to his nice, pleasing tone instead of Beth's potentially bossy one.

"Perfect," Cam said waving the boys out of the kitchen.

Beca and Cam move the cake out of the refrigerator the rest of the way and place the sparkler candles in Spiderman's hands to make it appear as if he was using his web shooter to shoot the candles out of the cake. This was the design that the girls had settled on: a large cake in the shape of Spiderman and across the top of the famous spider symbol on the chest of the costume were dark blue letters that read "_Happy THIRTEENTH Birthday Dean!_"

Together, they each carried one side of the cake and walked out of the kitchen doors, grateful that the boys had left both doors open. They made their way over to the table seeing Dean's back to them and Beca noticed a boy walking around and politely tapping guests on the shoulders and whispering really fast.

By the time they made it to the table, the guests were still dancing or talking but obviously peeking at the girls from the corner of their eyes. Beca quickly pulled out the lighter and hoped the clicking noise wouldn't alert Dean. She struggled to get the flame on the candles with the wind picking up. Cam helped by shielding the candles enough to get the sparklers started. As the noise from the candles started, the music was cut off and replaced with a fast-paced "Happy Birthday" beat. Everyone started singing to Dean as Casey and Jesse spun him around.

Dean's eyes were comically wide and his mouth was slightly open as he watched the candles sparkle through the numbers and hear all his friends sing to him. He looked up and stared at each girl—who each had an uneasy, nervous smile.

"_Happy birthday to you!_" everyone finished singing and clapped loudly for Dean.

Once the quiet took over and the sparkle was done, Cam pulled out a small chocolate cupcake from behind her back with a regular candle lit, ready to be wished on. "Make a wish," she smiled at him.

Beca grins, knowing he won't resist Cam's request and Dean does blow out the candle but then surprises both girls as he reaches across the table and hugs them together as more applause comes from the crowd. They barely miss smudging the corners of the cake when Dean decides to loosen his death grip around their necks to hug his brothers too. The sight is so rare that Beca quickly grabs her phone and snaps a picture of it.

"Hey!" the three Swanson boys all shout in unison.

"Did you at least get my good side?" _Casey_ laughs excitedly, reaching for the phone to view the picture.

The surrounding people laugh at the little boy's joke, but the music starts playing again, taking the attention away from the five of them who are huddled up around Dean.

"Were you surprised?!" Cam asks first.

"Yes, but a little embarrassed," he scolded her. Dean turned to Beca, "We agreed 'no cake' and then you go and buy a _Spiderman_ cake with sparklers and play a "Happy Birthday" mix?"

Beca nods knowing that Dean isn't really upset; he sounds more surprised or amazed.

"You're pretty awesome Beca," he declares.

Beca smirks and shakes her index finger in a right-left motion. "The surprise isn't over yet," she beams.

Dean's smile falls. "There's more?" he panics.

Jesse kneels beside the table and pulls out a small box wrapped with Christmas wrapping from under the table. "We didn't have any other kind of paper," he offers as an explanation as he hands the small box to Dean.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Dean says to no one in particular, unsure of who the gift is from.

The girls roll their eyes at his attempt to hide his excitement and curiosity over the box in his hand. "We didn't," Beca clarifies. "Your parents left this with your brother before they took off and wanted to make sure you got it today. Cam didn't want to wait so she could see your reaction."

Cam smiled at Dean and gestured for him to open it. He ripped through the wrapping and found another layer of a _different_ wrapping paper. This went on for about six layers until he finally saw a familiar picture on the box. "NO WAY!" Dean shouted. A flash blinded Dean temporarily as he tore the rest of the wrapping paper off. His parents had finally bought him a cell phone and now he wouldn't be the only eighth grader without one—according to him.

"Now you can stop using mine," Cam teased.

"And mine," Jesse added.

"And mine," Beca said as well.

"Not mine," Casey finished waving his hands to show his lack of a cell phone.

They all laughed and continued to stay in their bubble together until people started asking for cake and forming a line. The girls got to work on cutting the cake as the boys helped to move pieces to each plate and stick a fork in them before handing each guest a piece. The cake was so popular that people had come back for seconds and Dean had even taken the upper half of Spiderman's body inside before anyone came back for thirds.

The party continued until around 11 PM when some parents or siblings showed up to pick up the guests. The house was empty by 11:30 except for the kids, Beca, Jesse, Benji, and Beth.

"Do we have to clean this up today?" Casey yawned and rubbed his eyes to keep from falling asleep in his spot.

Beca looked at him amused and bent to pick him up. Even though he was tiny, Beca wasn't strong enough to hold him for long and Jesse had to move him into his own arms as Casey let sleep take him over.

"Isn't he the cutest when he's asleep?" Cam gushed.

Dean tried to hide his annoyed scowl but Beca caught it and raised an eyebrow at him. He turned away from her and moved behind Jesse to push him inside. "Just go put Casey in bed and come back down to help," he ordered. When Beth and Cam followed Jesse inside, Dean scanned the back yard and pointed to the cleanest place he could find, "I'll start on the porch," he said leaving Beca with Benji.

Beca knew Dean was avoiding talking to her alone because she had caught all the glances between Dean and Cam all week. She knew he would be uncomfortable and hesitant to admit to anything but she wanted to help, at least to finally put an end to the longing looks they both tried to hide. Before she could confront Dean, Benji tapped lightly on her shoulder, big smile, and held his hand out to her. She wasn't sure who this boy was in relation to the Swansons but he had stayed later than everyone else to clean up, so she'd be nice.

"Hi," Beca said taking his hand.

"Hi! You must be Beca. I'm Benji… Benjamin Applebaum," he stated his full name. "Jesse's my best friend."

"Oh right," Beca nodded. "Nice to meet you Benji."

"So how long have you been working for the Swansons?" he asked as they began to gather up the discarded cups, plates, food, etc. and dumping it all into large, black trash bags.

"Um almost two weeks," Beca answers. _Wow, ONLY two weeks._

Benji seems to read her thoughts and says, "It sounds like a short amount of time, but you probably know how Dean acted towards the other nannies." Benji then gets a shameful look on his face and tells Beca, "It's kind of my fault."

Beca suddenly realizes what Benji means and drops the garbage bag she was holding. "_You _taught him the magic tricks?"

Benji avoids her gaze, thinking Beca's upset with him. "He didn't do anything to you _too_, did he?!"

Beca laughs a little but eases Benji's mind when she says, "No. He wouldn't try it." With confidence, she leans in to whisper to Benji, "He's pretty scared of me."

"I heard that," Dean whispers loudly from the porch, mimicking Beca's volume when she "whispered" to Benji.

"You were supposed to," Beca smirks. "Anyways, he actually showed me a few the other day—outside of course—and they were interesting," she describes it in the nicest way she can. _It's a little nerdy, but hey every guy has that _one _nerdy hobby right?_

Benji smiled brightly at her. "Do you really think so? I mean, I know most people think I'm a _total nerd_, but close-up magic is really fun. I could show you a few basic tricks," he exclaimed brightly.

Beca bit her lip to hide her laugh. Benji was really sweet, especially compared to all the other high school students she had seen turned away from the gates or inside the party; she wasn't, however, interested in learning to do magic anytime soon—or ever really. While she was thinking of a good excuse to tell him, Jesse and Beth came back outside to help.

"Benji!" Jesse called out. "Come help us with the food," he said pointing at himself and Beth.

Benji waved goodbye and ran over to help the couple pack up food and move it inside. Beca was grateful for the save, and since Cam wasn't outside, she took the chance to talk to Dean alone.

"Hey kiddo," she said as she approached Dean on the porch. When Dean scoffed in offense, she rolled her eyes but corrected her mistake, "I meant 'hey teenager!'"

Dean was satisfied with that greeting so he went back to cleaning up the porch as Beca packed up the rented music equipment. Dean knew that Beca wanted to talk but he still wasn't sure he wanted to share, so he put off the inevitable by calling Cam outside.

Cam walked outside with an iPod in her hand. "What's up Spidey?"

"Nothing. I thought you were inside, avoiding helping clean up this place."

Cam plugged both earphones into her ears then, but didn't play music yet. "I was grabbing a sweater and my iPod," she said as she stuck the iPod in the small pouch in the front of the sweater.

Beca noticed the earphones then _and _the giant sweater she was wearing. Curiosity prompted her to ask, "Whose sweater is that? It looks too big to be yours."

"It's Spidey's," she said coolly as she turned around to show Beca the nickname written across the back in white letters. "He always lets me borrow sweaters." Cam turned on her music and headed out to the backyard to pick up where Beca and Benji left off.

"Really?" Beca smirks at Dean. He hides his face, but Beca can see the back of his neck turning a light shade of red. "So that's cute. You let a lot of girls borrow your sweaters?"

Dean continues to hide his smiling face from her. "No, just Cam."

"It looks nice on her," Beca casually observes.

"She always looks nice," Dean blurts out. He realizes what he's said and then quickly stutters out, "You know, for a girl…friend." His own eyes get a fraction wider at his words. "Not a _girlfriend_, but you know, a girl who's also… a friend: a girl friend." None of his further explanation is helping, but in reality only making his face redder in embarrassment.

Beca sighs. "Dean, you've been making a point all week that you're turning thirteen, 'it's a big deal and now you're more mature'… blah, blah, blah, right?" Dean nods timidly. "Act like it _Spidey_."

"There's nothing to say," he denies.

"Are you kidding me?" Beca questions him. "It's like this huge elephant in the room!" When Dean didn't respond, Beca kept pushing, "I'm not trying to force you to admit to something that's not true or that you don't already know; I just thought I'd help."

"Why?"

"Because you obviously like her," at that Dean turned and glared at her, but Beca continued, "and _she likes you too_. You're both too stubborn to say anything on your own."

Dean shifted uncomfortably. He seemed to be thinking something over in his head and then he walked up to the DJ booth, looked over the porch to make sure Cam's earphones were still in her ear, and she was out of ear-shot (just in case, you can never be too careful). "I don't need your help Beca."

"Well you need _someone's _help, because you won't do anything about it otherwise."

Dean's eyes immediately darkened at her words. "I've already tried that... and they were no help."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Your brothers don't count. Try a female's perspective."

"It was a female," Dean informed her with a scowl.

"Who? Cause I'm positive you wouldn't talk to your mom about this and I'm sure you don't trust a lot of people to know about your feelings for-"

While Beca was talking, Dean was glancing over to Cam and noticed that one of her earbuds had fallen out. Beca was about to say his secret out loud, so without thinking, he said the first thing that came to his mind to interrupt her.

"IT WAS JULIA!"

* * *

**AN: So I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter? It was strange writing in Jesse's POV after writing from Beca's for a few chapters. Be gentle, but please let me know what you think about the events of this chapter. **

**Also, I think I might have time for one more update before I take a break to prep for finals and the end of the school year. I promise I'm not abandoning this story but I need to buckle down and get through finals. I **_**might **_**have time to do some writing but definitely not enough to make it my usual length or edits for an actual update. Don't be upset because after finals… I'm out for the summer! and have a few weeks of free time before summer school (yes, I willingly enrolled in summer school). Just needed to get that info out there so no one freaks out that there's been no updates.**

**Btw I love getting prompts or story twists/ideas, so while I'm studying away (or really any time) feel free to send me ideas of what you'd like to see happen in MS! Can't promise I'll do everything word for word but I can figure something out :) Thanks again for all the follows and for reading! (No cliffhanger this time!)**

**guest: (I wish there was another identifier for your review (besides the lower case g) but hopefully what I respond will let you know that I'm responding to **_**your**_** review specifically). We all know Beca and Jesse belong together! The movie did a great job of teasing that inevitability. I'm just trying to do the same. I may or may not be a doing a good job of it, but I promise they're going to have fun getting to know each other/flirting as friends before they get together. THERE WILL BE FLUFF! Ha-ha! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Campbell: :) I can see that! Ahhh! I'm glad my story makes you feel "Agfthyjsrufeuhf! NjtghsudYgstfz!" (and yes ;) that's a direct quote!) Thank you for reading and reviewing. Love hearing from guests too! (It gives me hope that there may be other readers I don't know about—I imagine this though, I'm sure)**


	8. Damilla: The Beginning

**I'm back! I'm sorry for such a long gap between updates. I originally planned to have an extra chapter out before my finals started and this chapter out earlier, but like all my plans, life changes them without my permission.**

**Just a quick heads up: there's a slight time jump from the end of the last chapter to the beginning of this one. I left off on the night of Dean's birthday party and there will be a small flashback as to what happened after Dean's slip of the tongue, no worries. Enjoy! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own PP, only the original plot and characters.**

* * *

Beca and Casey were stationed in the second floor living room, arts and crafts supplies spread out all over the room. They were each cutting and pasting, drawing or coloring on the floor. Beca had been helping Casey with his history project ever since they got home from Pace, even skipping his tennis practice to make sure the work got done. With no easy distractions from having Dean or Cam around, they were almost done.

The house had been feeling lonely and quiet all week, so Beca finally decided to play mixes from her laptop today while they worked. Casey was bobbing his head to the music when his stomach started growling. His hands instantly moved to his stomach as he smiled sheepishly. He looked over to see if Beca had noticed and she was smirking at him knowingly. "I guess I'm a little hungry," he admitted.

Beca laughed a little at his embarrassment. "I told you we should've eaten before we started," she said as she glanced at her phone beside her. She clicked on its screen to check the time, 5:49 PM. They were alone for now but she knew Dean would be home from basketball practice soon and he would be hungry as well.

At the constant thoughts of the other Swanson boy, Beca frowned. Since the birthday party, Jesse had taken it upon himself to be in charge of driving Dean to his activities. Despite her protests, Jesse had basically been keeping Dean away from Beca ever since.

* * *

"_It was Julia!" Dean practically screamed out._

_As if on cue, they heard something crash in the kitchen, followed closely by a small squeak and a rough "FUCK!" Only then did Dean and Beca notice that the kitchen window facing the porch was open, drapes drawn closed._

"_Who is Julia?" Beca asked quickly, eyes trained on the window._

_Dean shook his head no as Cam joined them on the porch and stood next to Dean. "I think we both know who just heard you Spidey," Cam said to Dean. "Why the heck would you yell that out?!"_

"_I didn't know he would hear me!"_

"_That's no excuse!"_

"_Can you two talk about this later? Who is Julia?!" Beca interrupted._

_Cam and Dean looked at each other, trading glances until Cam nudged Dean in the side. "Might as well finish what you started," she told him._

_Dean sighed in surrender. "She's the nanny… the one we had before you, the one I tried telling you about."_

_Beca opened her mouth to ask more but as she began to speak, Jesse came out of the house with Beth and Benji trailing behind him._

"_Inside," Jesse pointed behind him towards the kitchen's back doors. "Now," he said between gritted teeth._

"_Jesse," Benji started._

_Jesse sent a glare in Benji's direction, "Take Beth home… please."_

"_What?" Beth asked shocked. "I thought I was staying here tonight."_

_Jesse ignored her, all his attention was now on his younger brother and the two girls standing with him. Benji ushered Beth away, mumbling something about now not being the time to argue with him. Jesse kept a dark glare on Dean, in the same way a predator watches its prey. _

_Seeing him cower slightly, Cam grabbed Dean's hand. She pulled him to walk around Jesse, saying "Let's go Dean."_

_Jesse pointed at his younger brother, "We're gonna talk about this later."_

_Dean frowned in response but followed Cam, giving Beca an apologetic look before disappearing inside. Beca felt bad for creating a problem between the two Swanson boys, but she wasn't going to feel bad for trying to help Dean. And now more than ever, she wanted to know exactly what Julia had done to their family._

_Beca cut Jesse off at the door as he tried to follow the kids inside. "Dude, what is your problem?" she asked._

_With all of his attention completely focused on Dean's reveal, Jesse almost forgot that Beca knows about Julia now. "How much do you know, Beca?"_

"_What?"_

"_How much do you know… about what Dean said?"_

_Beca could see how nervous Jesse was. He was fidgeting on each foot and his hands were shaking even though they were in fists. "I don't-"_

_Jesse held up his hand. "Don't… just, please don't act like you don't know anything."_

"_I wasn't." Beca thought about what she had heard from both Dean and Cam, but not wanting to make the situation worse, she instead said, "This girl, Julia, is the reason Dean didn't want another nanny. She must have done something pretty awful to get on his bad side." Beca waited for some sign from Jesse to confirm or continue, but he stood still listening to her. "Your parents never mentioned anything to me, and this is the first time I've heard her name. I don't know a lot, but I can tell she's a big deal."_

_When Jesse didn't say anything, Beca took that as a confirmation that she was onto something. She wanted to, _needed_ to know more. "Why is it so bad if I know about her?" she said crossing her arms defensively._

"_It's a family matter," Jesse shrugged. He seemed so casual about it so Beca had a hard time seeing how Julia had affected him at all._

_It irritated her, but Beca remembered Cam's words about how Julia had "helped" Jesse. "Dean and I weren't talking about your family though Jesse."_

_Jesse suddenly looked confused. "Then why did he bring her up?"_

"_We were talking about Cam and he said he didn't want my help. He mentioned that he had asked for help before and it didn't work out. He said that it was Julia who helped him before." She saw recognition in his eyes and it prompted her to continue, "What? You know what he meant, don't you?"_

"_It's a long story."_

"_Dude, you're being pretty vague while I'm telling you what you want to know."_

"_Why do you even want to know, Beca?"_

_Beca only blinked in response. She was speechless, partly because she wasn't entirely sure anymore, partly because of the force behind Jesse's words. "I care," is all she could muster._

_Jesse had only nodded before excusing himself to head inside the house. Beca wasn't sure what her place was at the Swanson's house after everyone had gone inside so she packed up the rest of the music equipment and loaded it into her car. As she was leaving, she saw Cam in a second floor window, without Dean in sight._

* * *

Beca still didn't know the entire story, but she didn't have a chance to ask Dean about it before hearing from Meryl that Jesse had "volunteered" to be in charge of driving Dean around. It had been just her and Casey for over a week, no sign of Jesse or Dean. Today, however, she was bound to catch a glimpse of them both because she was staying late with both Meryl and Barry working late.

"Let's go to the kitchen and see what your mother left for dinner tonight," Beca suggested.

"Okay," Casey said, picking up his current drawing.

They make their way down the stairs and head straight to the kitchen. Casey places his drawing on the center island and grabs a stool to sit down. He resumes drawing as Beca looks through the refrigerator and freezer looking for leftover food or a frozen meal to cook for the kids.

As she's rummaging through the food, they hear the front door open.

"You really should learn to stand up to him. He's being a bully," Cam's voice came floating into the kitchen.

"Cam, what do you want from me?" Dean asked, his voice getting louder as he seemed to be getting closer to the kitchen doorway.

"Talk to Beca!" she says exasperatedly as they walk through the doorway.

Beca looks up at the mention of her name and locks eyes with Cam. She hasn't seen her since the incident either and Beca knows she's probably the only person who is, at the moment, willing to talk to her. Unfortunately, she's not the one who should be telling her.

"Hey Casey, why don't you show Cam the project we've been working on upstairs?"

Cam holds out her hand for Casey, not bothering to argue with Beca or give in to Dean's suddenly panicked expression. Casey proudly shows off his current drawing as he and Cam leave the kitchen.

Dean takes Casey's spot on the island, instantly wanting to get to the point. "You're very subtle. I don't think Casey knows anything's wrong," he says oozing sarcasm.

Beca narrows her eyes at Dean. "Casey's smart. He already knows something's wrong since you and your brother have basically disappeared whenever I'm around since your slip up."

"That's not my fault. It was Jesse's idea."

"So Cam's right? You let him bully you into going along with it because… because of what?"

"You were prying!" Dean whispered harshly. "And _she_ would have heard you." Dean didn't wait for a response before he said, "_You_ were about to say-" Dean abruptly stopped. The only noise they both could hear was Dean's deep breathing and the light footsteps from the second floor. When it was "safe," he said, "You were about to say _you-know-what_ and Cam's earphone had fallen out."

"Why are you so scared?"

Dean then changed the subject back to his little slip, "Jesse's mad at me because he thinks I've told you, well, everything about her."

Beca groans at the direction of the conversation. _It's like a vicious cycle with him! _"I'm not going to push any of you to tell me anything about Julia if you don't want to. I respect your family's privacy."

Dean relaxed. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

Dean knew Beca understood what he meant, but he had to acknowledge that he acted like a _dick_. "For hiding from you, agreeing to Jesse's 'suggestion,' not sticking up for you cause you know about Julia now… I'm a jerk."

"Yes you are," Beca said sweetly. "But," she added when Dean frowned, "I guess I can find a way to figure you…"

"What's the catch?" Dean said after a beat of silence.

"Tell me what Julia did."

Dean's eyes widened in horror. "What?"

Beca's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "You know? About helping you with Cam?"

"OH!" Dean gasped out.

"What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing," Dean changed the subject quickly, "it's just that… Julia… she tried to help, and whether she was sincere or not, she helped me _accept _my feelings for Cam." Beca started mumbling about understanding his stubbornness but Dean cut her off. "Yeah okay, I'm stubborn; it's a Swanson trait."

Beca smiled as the tension seemed to just melt away. Things were back to normal again… well, mostly.

"So you didn't want to like Cam?" Dean nodded. "Why? She's a really great girl. You two are perfect for each other."

Dean ducked his head to hide his blush but continued to explain. "It's been a complicated situation for a while, I guess. I've known Cam since I was five years old; she was my first friend," Dean said recalling how he had met her.

* * *

_The first time he saw her, she was upside down, leaning over him._

_Dean had walked into his "Pre-First" classroom at Pace, ahead of his mom and NOT holding her hand anymore since he was a big kid now, and set his eyes on some shiny toy cars on the opposite side of the room. He ran excitedly towards them—ignoring the cable cords running across the room—and tripped, rolling over onto his back. When he opened his eyes, he was looking into deep, chocolate brown eyes. Dean lay still on the floor, forgetting the pain on his scraped knee, and just stared at those eyes, completely hypnotized._

_The next thing he knows, the girl with the chocolate brown eyes scrunches her eyebrows in confusion and kicks him in the shoulder. _

"_Ow! What was that for?" Dean says standing up, and setting his feet in a fighting stance._

_The girl raises her eyebrows curiously at Dean's posture and places her hands on her hips. "Stop staring," she says matter-of-factly._

_Dean felt the flush reaching his cheeks, and before he could think of a reason, he replied, "I wasn't staring at _you_…" His eyes searched their surroundings quickly and almost missed the tiny, red sports car in her hands before he continued, "uh… I was looking at the car!"_

_The little girl pursed her lips, considering his words. After a moment of silence, she held the car out towards him and offered, "Do you wanna play?"_

_Dean narrowed his eyes at her and asked, "What's the catch?"_

_The girl smiled at his question, then answered, "My family just moved here so I don't know anybody. … Want to be friends?" She looked so hopeful at the possibility of making a new friend on their first day. _

_Dean suddenly looked confused at her proposition and said, "But you're a girl?!"_

_The little girl scowled at him defensively. "Fine, then I guess you can find a _boy_ to play cars with you!" She stormed past him, shoving his shoulder in the process. She sat down with the rest of the toy cars, and started playing, pointedly ignoring him._

_Dean was surprised at the girl's reaction, but what stood out to him the most was the fleeting look of disappointment and hurt in her eyes, which made them darken a bit. He wasn't sure why but his stomach was a combination of knots and butterflies whenever he looked directly at her eyes. It was because of her eyes that he shrugged off his discomfort and decided that perhaps she wouldn't be so bad to hang out with._

_By the end of the day, Dean and Camilla had spent the whole day together._

* * *

"That's so… very like you," Beca laughed at Dean.

"I was _five_," he defended.

"Sure," Beca smirked. "So what's so complicated about that?"

"Well for starters, Cam's a scholarship-baby." Beca opened her mouth to ask Dean what that is, but he quickly answered, "Most of the kids that go to my school have houses like this and their parents are loaded. Cam's family isn't. She goes to Pace on scholarship, and usually, those kids aren't welcomed easily."

Beca immediately understood the "complicated" aspect behind their friendship. They came from very different homes and, from what she had personally seen at Pace, the rest of the kids flaunted what they came from. She realized it couldn't have been easy to maintain their friendship. It might even be rare for a friendship like that at Pace.

"After a while though, it didn't matter that she was on scholarship and didn't have rich parents. You've met her… it's hard _not _to like her so all the kids ignored that about her, _but not the parents._ Cam's parents had a hard time fitting in with the other parents because they weren't as accepting as their kids were."

"That's awful!"

"It's not the worst part," Dean's hands closed in fists. "We've never known why, but Cam's parents were never welcomed, even when other scholarship-parents were. My mom found out the hard way when Cam and I were in the lower school, and she made it her mission to help them feel welcome with _some _parents. Before I knew it, our families were taking vacations together and spending holidays and celebrating birthdays; it all just made Cam and I closer despite our 'differences.'"

"Wait," Beca stopped Dean. "If you're about to tell me that you didn't want to accept your feelings for Cam because her family doesn't have a lot of money, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"

Dean's eyes flashed fear. "WHAT!? No, No, NO! That's not it. I've never cared about that, honestly."

Beca saw the sincerity in his expression and let her anger subside. "Then why?"

"We're best friends; we have been ever since the day we met, but things were weird when our families got closer. She wasn't just my best friend anymore; she was kind of like a part of my family too, almost like a sister."

"Okay, I can understand your reluctance with those feelings."

Dean nodded. "Since our families have stayed so close, it's hard to remember the line between my best friend and the girl I grew up with." It was Beca's turn to nod in understanding. "It's hard to describe but Julia tried to make me see that I didn't want to like Cam cause I was trying to separate my best friend and the girl I grew up with… but they're the same person in the end."

"Then what's the problem? I mean, now that you've accepted it, why won't you act on it? And don't you dare give me a lame excuse," Beca narrowed her eyes in warning.

"No," Dean shook his head with a smirk, "I have no 'it'll ruin our friendship' excuse."

Beca blew out a breath in sarcastic relief.

"I'm pretty sure that we'd be pretty good together and we wouldn't let it ruin our friendship; it means everything to us."

"But?" Beca prompted.

"But sometimes I'm not sure if Cam feels the same way about me."

"You're blind," Beca stated frankly.

Dean's expression turned into one of annoyance. "I have my reasons."

"What could they possibly be?!" Beca asked. It's her turn to be annoyed at him.

Dean took a deep breath. "You have no idea what's happened between us."

"Then tell me," Beca challenged.

"Fine," Dean said before he revealed more of his complicated history with Cam.

* * *

_As the Swanson and Parker families got closer, so did Dean and Cam. They shared several interests and hobbies—some Dean wouldn't admit to, like singing—so they were always involved with the same clubs and had the same group of friends. It was rare when one of them participated in an activity without the other, the only exceptions being sports teams and the glee club that Cam joined in 6__th__ grade. Despite her persistence, Dean refused to join with her but he supported her by showing up and being her loudest cheerleader during competitions. They had established a strong friendship by then—also resembling a brother-sister relationship—but that all changed after Pace's Glee Club won the Regional Elementary Glee Club Competition._

_Some of the parents gathered together and threw a big celebration at the Swanson's house. The Glee Club, along with Dean and Cam's other friends, were invited to the chaperoned party. After dinner, the parents left the kids alone, while they talked outside._

_Dean didn't remember whose idea it was, but eventually the kids settled into a game of Truth or Dare. Since there were over 30 kids there, they split "teams" into pairs. (Dean and Cam were, _obviously_, paired together.) When it was their turn, one of Cam's Glee Club friends dared them to kiss._

_Upon hearing their dare, both Dean and Cam began to protest. "Dude, what the heck? NO." Dean sent a death glare towards Zack, the boy who dared them._

_Cam turned her head towards Dean, giving him an offended look. "Um… rude? I don't want to kiss you either, but can you not sound disgusted by the idea, please?"_

_He gave Cam a sheepish smile, then leaned in and whispered in her ear, "That's not what I meant. … But we _can't_ kiss. … Right?"_

_She looked at him, conflicted, before turning her attention back to the game, "And if we don't?"_

_The other kids looked around at each other and settled their gazes on Zach. He smirked at Cam and challenged, "If you don't kiss… then the dare is for _both_ of you to sneak past the adults, into Dean's parents liquor cabinet and bring us back a bottle."_

"_We can't do that!" Dean and Cam shouted at once. _

_Dean suddenly stood up, pushing Cam's hand off his arm, and walked towards Zach. "I get the alcohol—you want to drink even though your parents are right outside—but why do you want Cam and I to kiss?"_

_Cam was now standing next to Dean, pulling on his arm and holding him back from Zach, who was standing up too. "Seriously, this is not the time and place for this. Both of you need to calm down."_

_Dean noticed recognition in Cam's eyes. As he turned to look at her, Cam's eyes got lighter—a reflex he knew happened only when she was upset or nervous. "You know why." Dean's statement sounded more like a question towards her._

_Before Cam could explain the situation, Zach stepped in between them and gave Dean an exaggerated sympathetic look. "Trouble in paradise? Are you scared she thinks she's too good for you? Or do you think you're too good for her?" he asked laughing._

_That was Dean's breaking point. He shoved Zach, making him trip over some of the other kids. As Zach was struggling to stand up, Cam realized that the only way she could stop the impending fight was to shift the focus back onto the dare. Without another moment's hesitation, she walked up to Dean and placed her hands on each side of his face. Before he could blink, she pulled him towards her as she leaned up and joined their lips._

_They both heard audible gasps from the rest of their friends as they kissed. Obviously, none of their friends believed they would actually kiss._

_It was meant to be a quick, chaste kiss on the lips, but after getting over the initial shock of Cam's lips on his, Dean found his arms unconsciously moving around her and hugging her slightly closer to him. Getting lost in the moment, they almost didn't register someone clearing their throat beside them._

_Pulling away, Dean felt a lingering spark on his lips. He tried to meet Cam's eyes but she kept her gaze on the floor, catching her breath. She then turned toward Zach, and said, "There. We did the dare."_

_After an awkward silence, the kids heard the back door open and their parents walked in, breaking up that part of the party._

_After that night, Dean and Cam's friendship changed, though he tried to act like nothing had happened. Dean denied his feelings for her, although he was constantly encouraged by both Jesse and Julia. Dean was convinced that because of her reaction to their kiss, Cam would never feel the same way about him._

* * *

"Seriously what is your problem?" Beca asked, a bit concerned. "How do you not see it?"

"What do you mean?"

Beca rubbed her temples in frustration. This kid's problems were going to make her brain explode. "DEAN! She kissed you and then you pretend like it never happened or that it didn't affect you… how do you think that made her feel?! You're the one making your situation with Cam complicated, _not her._"

Dean pouted.

"There's something else, though. Deep down, you _know _she feels the same way, and yet, you don't do anything about it, _or worse_, you shrug it off."

"That's not true," he tries to defend.

"Yes it is," she counters. "Why?"

Dean jumps off the stool, and as Beca gets ready to jog around the island in order to stop him from walking away this time, he actually moves to her side of the kitchen island. "Because… first loves never last," he finally admitted, defeated.

Beca instantly warmed at the confession. Instead of taking the chance of saying something wrong or what he didn't want to hear, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. She squeezed him and hoped that it was enough to make him feel better.

Dean immediately hugged Beca back, silence filling the room.

_Click._

Dean and Beca raised their heads and saw Casey smiling in the kitchen doorway with Cam holding up her camera phone.

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything," Cam smirked at them. "We finished the project and we're starving, _so_ if you two are done, can we eat now?"

Beca quickly kissed Dean on his temple before releasing him and going back to the refrigerator.

Dean didn't protest or tried to kiss her back, but just smiled the trademark Swanson grin. "I think there's some pasta from the other night and potato salad," he suggested.

"Wow, I love Mama Swanson's potato salad," Cam squealed in excitement.

"Mama Swanson?" the Swanson boys and Beca asked.

Cam smiled proudly, ignoring their scrutinizing looks. "What? It's cute. I'm not gonna call your mom by her first name," she said to Dean.

"What about my dad?" Dean smiled.

"Well that's obvious: Papa Swanson," Cam smiled back.

"What about me?" Casey asked in anticipation.

Beca smiled adoringly at the littlest Swanson boy. _Always wanting some attention. _"You have a nickname, Case."

"Or would you prefer Baby Swanson?" Dean asked his brother.

When Casey made a face at being called a baby, they laughed and settled the nickname debate.

Beca heated up their food and they all ate together in the kitchen, like a little family. It felt nice to have a home cooked meal again and sitting down to eat with people. Beca missed having a family dinner since she could hardly remember any before her parents divorced. Before she let herself get caught up in the memories of her childhood, she asked Dean, "Where's your brother? Doesn't he want to eat something?"

"He left in a hurry," he answered between bites.

"Where?" Casey asked curiously.

"Beth," Cam answered and apparently Casey understood with just Jesse's girlfriend's name.

"A date?" Casey questioned.

Dean raised his eyebrows at his brother's question. "Does it matter?" Cam kicked Dean under the table. "Ow! What was that for?"

Cam gave him a look that read _you know_. "I think he mentioned something about Beth being upset with him."

Beca, taking a page from Casey's book, spoke up and asked, "Why is she upset with him?"

Dean turned his gaze on Beca, the same one he gave Casey. "Why are we talking about this?"

This time, Cam punched him in the shoulder above the table. "Rude much?"

"Sorry," Dean grumbled.

"All he said was that she was upset and they've been arguing about the same thing for a week now. I think it might be serious," Cam confessed.

Beca's mouth formed an O shape, but Casey obviously smiled brighter at the news. After her matchmaking between Dean and Casey was done, she wanted to find out what Casey's issues were with Beth, but for now, she let it go and they all went back to eating.

* * *

**AN: I had the most difficult time writing this chapter. I'm not sure why exactly, but it took me longer than usual. Unfortunately for you all, I would rather release a good chapter **_**later **_**than usual rather than a bad one **_**earlier**_**, which is why this is a late update.**

**Another thing, while I originally used Skylar Astin's parents' real names for the fic, I'm just going to refer to them as Mama & Papa Swanson most of the time. BittyAB18 mentioned the nicknames and I love them :) She's a fellow PP author and I AM OBSESSED with her stories. I highly recommend.**

**A lot of quick editing so I apologize for any mistakes. And b****tw, the next update will be late (fair warning)… thanks for reading!**


	9. The Breakup

**I know I said at the end of the last chapter that this would be late, but trust me, I didn't mean **_**this**_** late! No one probably cares about my explanation, just happy that there's a new update, but I lost both my laptop and cell phone (recovered one & replaced the other and I've rushed to get this chapter out). Thank you for all the reviews and PMs about the story and encouraging me to continue; it makes me feel all smiley and warm inside to hear how much people love my story. On to the story now! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything familiar. I own all original characters.**

* * *

The "incident" after Dean's birthday had snapped something inside Jesse. It was like they were back in summer, after Julia had left, all over again. Jesse became withdrawn, but this time, taking Dean along with him. He let his younger brother finish celebrating his birthday once his parents came home, but as soon as he found the perfect moment, he asked—more like _demanded_—to be in charge of Dean. His parents seemed suspicious of his intentions but they eventually agreed knowing Beca would still have Casey to completely occupy her work hours. Jesse hadn't provided any explanation to his parents but since Dean didn't argue, they let Beca know of the changes right away.

Neither Jesse nor Dean had heard from Beca about the changes, as they had expected, but Jesse was mostly relieved that Beca didn't mention anything to his parents about Julia. If his parents knew that these changes were because of Julia, Jesse would have bigger problems to deal with than his brother's big mouth. He finds himself becoming angrier with his brother as the week goes on, but he doesn't say anything to him; instead, he just holds everything in, everything back, from everyone, _including _Beth.

Throughout their short relationship, longer friendship, Beth has never known Jesse to be the type of person to close himself off, so when this happens she tries to help. This is where all the fighting starts. Beth is Jesse's escape from his past, so when she's pushing to know what happened after Dean's party, Jesse loses it causing tension between them. Their fighting increases once Beth finds out that Dean's tagging along with Jesse now because Jesse's keeping Dean from Beca. (Jesse notes that Beth seems to be angrier about Beca than anything she may have heard about Julia.) Their fighting keeping his mind completely occupied, Jesse brought Dean home earlier than he had planned so that he had time to see Beth before his parents came home.

Jesse drove to pick Cam up from her house before heading to their house. Once he parked his car in the garage, he made his way to the upstairs apartment, forgetting to walk Cam and Dean inside the house. He walked into his apartment, flicked on the lights and headed into his bedroom to shower and change out of his gym clothes. In 10 minutes he was showered and dressed, ready to go see Beth. He made up his mind not to text her in advance, worrying that she'll avoid him before he made it to her house.

Since his mind is focused on getting to Beth's house, Jesse finally notices Beca's car in the garage when he comes back down to leave. He has a brief feeling of panic before he lets it slip away and he gets into his car.

Beth's house is located in the opposite direction of his house so he drives faster than he should. When he pulls into his girlfriend's driveway, he immediately grabs his phone from his pocket and sends a quick text to Beth to let her know that he's outside waiting to talk to her.

After a few minutes, his phone beeps with his text message alert tone.

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:23 PM  
__It's late. Can we do this tomorrow?__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:23 PM  
__It's not that late.__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:23 PM  
__Please Beth__  
_

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:25 PM  
_… _No.__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:26 PM  
__You're still mad.__  
_

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:27 PM  
__HELL YEAH I'M MAD!__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:27 PM  
__That was meant as more of a statement, not  
__a question.__  
_

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:27 PM  
__Jes, GO AWAY__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:29 PM  
__You're being ridiculous!__  
_

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:30 PM  
__Please go Jesse!__  
_

_To: Beth  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:31 PM  
__Not until you talk to me.__  
_

_To: Jes  
__Nov 28, 2012, 6:31 PM  
__NO__  
_

Tired of the back and forth in their text messages, Jesse stuffs his cell phone into his jacket pocket and opens his door to step out of the car. He finds Beth's window and notices a shadow in the darkness of the room. He walks towards the front door, unconcerned with the possibility that her parents are home. As he gets closer to the door, he hears loud footsteps heading down the stairs. Simultaneously, Jesse makes it to the door as the door swings open, Beth standing in the doorway in her plaid pajama shorts and solid tank top.

Beth grabs a sweater from the closet next to the front door and steps onto the front porch. Jesse notes that her expression is visibly angry and upset.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she whispers harshly at him. "I told you to go, not to come to my door and disturb my parents." With that, Beth peeked around the house towards her parents' bedroom window and when she saw the coast was clear, she gripped Jesse's arm and tugged him towards his car. "GO… before they come to check on me."

Jesse pulled his arm out of her tight grip, grateful for his sweater because he could faintly feel Beth's nails in his arm. "Your parents won't have a problem with me being here."

"They won't, but I do. You're completely ignoring my wishes. I don't want to do this now and my parents would agree with me if I didn't want you here right now," she informed him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jesse said stubbornly.

Beth huffed out deliberately, her breath visible in the cold night. "Then…" Beth trailed off, her eyes getting hazy. Jesse now saw the anger disappearing and Beth's lip trembling—a sign he remembers to mean that she's upset, about to cry.

"Then what?" Jesse broke the uncomfortable silence.

Beth avoided his gaze and crossed her arms, unconsciously—or consciously, for all he knows—moving away from him and closer to her front door. "Then I'll make this fast cause it's cold," she said, her voice breaking with sorrow.

Jesse nodded, completely alert with the change of her tone. "Fair enough."

Beth took a few long breaths before trying to speak, "Just listen and let me say everything I want to say, okay? Don't interrupt." Jesse could only nod, unprepared for what was to come. "We've been friends since you joined Glee club in middle school, and that's all we ever were," she smiled remembering all their memories together. "But then, out of nowhere, you confessed how much you've liked me all these years… and I never saw it, cause you always seemed like you had someone else on your mind," she stopped and appeared to be looking for a reaction but Jesse remained impassive. "I wanted to believe you, to trust what you were saying, but even when everything was going so great, I couldn't," she paused and sobbed into her hand, "_I couldn't ignore it!_ I knew it wasn't _me_ that you wanted to be with."

Jesse started shaking his head no and tried to speak but she cut him off before he had the chance. "I went along with it though, with us, because I _really _like you." Beth was shaking—not because of the cold however—and she had to take a few more deep breaths before she could finish. "But it's not enough… not anymore."

"Beth… babe what are you saying?" Jesse finally found his voice to ask.

Beth's eyes were full of water so she wiped her eyes clear and moved forward to hug Jesse. Instinctively, their arms wrapped around each other. Beth leaned her head away from Jesse, looked in his eyes, and cried, "I'm sorry. … _Jesse, it's over_."

His arms limped to his sides, giving Beth room to move away. She didn't leave right away, but Jesse was left speechless. The last thing he felt was a warmth on his cheek from her kiss, but the wind picked up and replaced it with a chill as he watched Beth walk away into her house, without a second look back.

* * *

Entirely on autopilot, Jesse got back in his car and drove home. He was lucky—not that he felt that way—and made it home before his parents. When he pulled up the hill, the house's lights were on throughout the first floor, but pitch black darkness on the top two floors. Jesse didn't feel like being around his brothers, Cam, or Beca. (He noticed her car was still parked in the garage.) His only plan is to go into his room and try to fall asleep peacefully.

Unfortunately for Jesse, this was obviously not his night. He parked his car parallel to the wraparound porch, closer to the back of the house than the apartment. He stayed in the car, hands still on the steering wheel, facing the backyard where only less than two weeks ago, he had a girlfriend.

"Jesse," he heard his youngest brother call to him from the porch. Jesse ignored Casey and made no move to acknowledge that he had heard his little brother. "Jess?"

Jesse groaned, but remained in the car. "Hey Case, now's not a good time," he said loud enough for Casey to hear.

Without further questions, Casey just said, "I know you'll be okay Jess. You're my big brother; you're always okay." Jesse met his brother's gaze in the car's passenger side mirror. Casey only waved at him then headed back inside.

Jesse sighed easily. He loved Casey but that little boy was a bit of a mystery. His brother always knew more than he let on, more than any 10-year-old should know—and because of that—he always said the right thing, whether he knew it or not. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his parents or brothers… again. Jesse knew that his parents would find out about his breakup with Beth eventually and it would create a domino effect that would lead him straight back to Dr. Lipstein's office, _unless_, he came up with something that would distract his parents more.

He sat in his car watching the car's clock, _7:02 PM_. His parents would be home in less than an hour and his mind was drawing a blank. Then, as if on cue, his cell phone beeped, announcing a new text message.

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:02 PM  
__Hey Jesse! I know it's late but I wanted your  
__opinion on the anniversary gift.__  
_

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:03 PM  
__[IMG_3015]__  
_

_To: Benji  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:03 PM  
__That's a colorful photo album Benj… but  
__which anniversary?__  
_

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:03 PM  
__Jesse, are you joking?__  
_

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:04 PM  
__Cause sometimes I can't tell if you're bein__g  
__sarcastic over text messages?__  
_

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:04 PM  
__Are you?__  
_

_To: Benji  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:04 PM  
__Benji, I'm not being sarcastic. Which  
__anniversary?__  
_

_To: Jesse  
__Nov 28, 2012, 7:06 PM  
__This is kind of awkward ha :)  
__Isn't it your parent's anniversary this  
__weekend?__  
_

_Oh shit! How could I forget it was my parent's anniversary?! _ Jesse face palmed into the steering wheel, pressing his forehead against the horn.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!_

He slowly moved his head off the horn, but kept his head down, and groaned loudly. He had another problem on his hands: Jesse needed to find a gift for his parents. His mind now flashed with anniversary gift ideas as he stayed in the car.

"Dude, are you okay?" he heard Beca ask beside the driver's side window.

Jesse twisted his head to look in her direction and he saw Beca, standing alone with her arms crossed and shivering from the cold. Dean and Cam were peeking out at them through the living room windows, hiding from Jesse's view.

Jesse nodded, "Yeah, Beca, I'm fine."

"If this is what fine looks like, I'm not sure your brothers want to see you looking '_not great_,'" she continued, concern growing little by little. Jesse let out a small laugh and closed his eyes briefly. "Is this about your girlfriend?"

Jesse's eyes immediately opened wide. "No. Why would you think that?"

Now it was Beca who looked uncomfortably wide-eyed. "Um," she started hesitantly, "your brother and Cam _might _have mentioned something?"

"It's my parent's anniversary on Saturday, and I need to get them a gift," Jesse said changing the topic.

Beca narrowed her eyes slightly but went along with the new topic, "You get them a gift for their anniversary?"

"My brothers and I always get them a gift," he stated as if it was common sense. "Haven't you ever got your parents a gift?"

Beca avoided eye contact as she said, "No. They're divorced." Her voice was cold, but with a hint of vulnerability. Jesse could tell by the tension in her body language that Beca wasn't the type of person to open up and expose her insecurities—and her parents were obviously a sensitive topic for her. Jesse felt an unfamiliar wish to comfort her.

"I'm sorry."

Beca rolled her eyes, attempting to brush off the tense atmosphere. "Why?" she asked, "Did you make them get a divorce?"

"No."

"There's nothing to be sorry about then."

Unfortunately, the awkward silence didn't go away, so Jesse decided to get out of the car. "So I can't count on your help to brainstorm gift ideas?" he asked with a small smile, dimples on display.

"I don't think I'll be much help," she confesses.

They both hear the creaking open of the window that Dean and Cam, and now Casey, are peeking out of. "We can help!" an excited Casey yells out.

Beca spontaneously laughs. Jesse turns to face her but when he sees her appear more relaxed and her happy expression from laughing, he joins her. Dean looks at them as if they've both lost it, Cam smiles brightly at them, while Casey pouts.

Beca moves around the car, closer to the window, and says, "You're always up for anything huh?" Casey's pout fades as he nods fiercely. "Alright, let's brainstorm."

Jesse and Beca headed back inside the house, meeting up with the kids in the kitchen. While Beca and Jesse warmed food for Jesse to eat, Cam found a notepad to take notes as Dean and Casey shouted out ideas and Beca or Jesse agreed or disagreed with the ideas. Some of the ideas were creative: digital picture frames with a slideshow of how their parents met, dated, married, and then family pictures; a new set of anniversary wedding bands with the Swanson boys' names engraved on the inside; a small renewal of vows in front of a small group of friends and loved ones; matching bracelets with all of the Swanson's birthstones. Other ideas were _different_: t-shirts with their wedding picture printed on them; all-day movie marathon of wedding and 'true love' movies (Jesse's idea—which made Beca rolls her eyes, in turn making Jesse feign offense); paying for matching tattoos (_not _Beca's idea, though everyone turned to her when tattoos were mentioned); a free day to themselves at home, no kids around (Casey's idea but Dean quickly disagreed as he wouldn't be able to sleep in—go figure).

At the mention of the free day to themselves at home—dismissed quickly by Dean—Cam jumped up with joy. "Oh! I _LOVE _that idea!"

"Cam," Dean whined, "I'm not a morning person!"

"Though that doesn't surprise me," Beca interrupted, smirking at him, "you could just sleep over at someone's house and sleep-in _there_."

Dean shook his head no and started protesting, arguing that weekends are "Dean time" which is becoming less and less with his activities. As the Swanson boys start arguing about whose fault it is that Dean's so busy, Cam whistles loudly, causing everyone to shut up and cover their ears.

"What are you? A banshee?!" Dean cries out when she stops. Cam aims for his shoulder and punches him, harder than intended, but to make her point.

"Ah!" he yelps at a high-pitch.

Both Cam and Beca raise their eyebrows at his pitch as Dean's brothers laugh at him. "Spidey, you deserved that punch, mostly for interrupting before." She gave him a warning look and he mimed zipping his lip shut while rubbing his shoulder and mouthing "ow." "Now listen to me before you say no. They don't need a free day at this house; they spend most of their time here when they're not working at the hospital." The boys nodded in agreement and Beca smiled at how easy it is for Cam to control their attention. "_But_… what they could use is a break _away_ from here, and from you boys—no offense—and I remembered that at the back-to-school fundraiser in September, my parents won a free weekend getaway to Lake Oconee!"

Dean mimed unzipping his lips to speak again, "But Cam, don't your parents want to take that trip?"

"That's the beauty of it!" she smiled wider, "it's a trip for _four_! They need another couple or else they'll have to pay. This is the perfect gift! Our parents hang out anyways, so it won't take much convincing and they'll have fun together, right?" Cam looked to Beca and Jesse for confirmation.

"It sounds like a good plan to me," Beca spoke her opinion.

All eyes turned to Jesse for the final approval of their anniversary gift. Jesse smiled at them and then said, "Yeah, I agree, but you have to ask your parents Camilla. They won the trip so it's up to them."

"YAY! They will! I just know it!"

Beca turns to Jesse. "You found a gift," she says simply.

"Yeah… luckily."

"Wait a minute," Casey speaks up. "If Mom and Dad are gone all weekend, then who's going to take care of us." He left that question hanging out for anyone to answer but before Jesse could reassure him, Casey's eyes brightened and he grinned the trademark Swanson smile at Beca.

Beca's eyes narrowed in suspicion before her mouth popped open into a surprised expression. "Casey, before you get any ideas-"

"BECA! You can hang out with us this _whole _weekend! It'll be fun," Casey remarked excitedly. Cam nudged Dean and pointed out Beca's now nervous expression. "OH! We can make breakfast together, for everyone in the house; you can help me practice for tennis, and—I guess—you can help Dean practice basketball; we can all go swimming in the pool; we can watch _a few_ (he stressed this and pointed at Dean and Jesse as he said it) movies in the theater upstairs; you can stay in Jesse's old room so you don't have to go to back to school late at night! Mom and Dad will say yes!"

During his long rant of activities, Jesse was drinking his usual choice of drink—a juice pouch—but when Casey mentioned Beca spending the weekend sleeping in his room (_you__r OLD room!_), well, Jesse had a classic movie moment. It seemed to all happen in slow motion: Cam raised her eyebrows at the suggestion, Dean scrunched his eyebrows together, Beca had a faint blush, and Jesse did a spit take. Thankfully, most of the juice sprayed on the table and the food on his plate, but there was excess spray that landed on everyone's faces. As the kids all groaned "ew," Beca moved from the table to grab paper towels (and open the kitchen windows because _wow, it's hot in here!_).

"Yeah," she says, slowly losing her ability to hide her hesitance about spending the weekend, "that sounds like _so much fun_." Beca grimaces at the obvious sarcasm dripping from her words. Casey starts losing his smile so she quickly explains, "It's not that I don't want to hang out with you, um, I just have this… _thing_ this weekend.

"A thing?" Jesse asks, sending Beca a look that says "that's the best you can do?"

Now all of them are looking at her. "It's, um, the Barden Bellas," she says almost embarrassed to admit it, but she'd rather feel embarrassed than lie to Casey and upset him. Jesse is confused at first but his smile slowly creeps onto his face, smirking at the memory of Beca telling Cam about her college's a capella group. Beca tries to keep a straight face, crosses her arms, and narrows her eyes at Jesse's annoying expression.

Cam saves the moment by asking, "Oh the Bellas! What are you girls doing this weekend? A COMPETITON?!"

Beca keeps her guard up towards Jesse's still-smiling face but answers Cam's questions. "Yeah, it's the regionals on Saturday. I have last-minute practice on Friday night."

"This is your a capella group right?" Jesse asks, smirk still in place.

Beca grits her teeth and somehow finds the composure not to bark her answer at him. "It's not _my_ group, but yeah, it's a capella." Jesse laughs now and Beca's ready to punch him as her cheeks bloom a blush of red. "What are _you_ laughing at? Aren't you part of your school's glee club?" She turns to Cam quickly, "No offense," but Cam isn't offended in the least.

Jesse holds back his laughter to communicate, "I'm sorry. You just… you…"

"WHAT?!"

"You don't look like an a capella girl; it might be the ear spike," he points to his ear.

Beca huffs in annoyance. There's no reason she has to explain herself to him, but she replies anyways. "It's a long story. You wouldn't understand."

Jesse's about to ask her to give it a try but during their exchange, Cam and Casey have gotten restless—Dean acting uninterested of it all. "That's not a problem Beca," Cam interrupts.

"That's just another activity to add to our list this weekend," Casey adds.

"What?" she asks in surprise.

Casey smiles hopeful at her. "We can go see you perform and cheer you on like you do at Dean's basketball games and my tennis matches."

"Yeah, we have the whole weekend so a few hours listening to people sing is what this family is used to," Cam reminds her while pointing to Jesse.

"That's true," Dean inputs. "I have twice the experience cause of Cam's competitions too, _and_ Casey and I went to the riff-off at Barden. That's pretty much what it's like right?"

Beca shrugs honestly. "I'm not sure. I've never competed before."

"It is," Cam reassures. "I've seen my mom's old competitions on tape and I've had family go to the ICCA's before; it's similar to Glee club competitions," she says the last part mainly towards Dean so as to not discourage him.

"What do you think Jess?" Casey asks his oldest brother.

Beca turns all her attention to Jesse, waiting to see if he'll laugh again. Jesse smiles at how Casey and Dean watch him carefully for his approval. Dean seems to know that Jesse will cave so he nods at Cam, but Casey is still watching Jesse intently. Jesse purses his lips, his left hand's index finger tapping against his lips, creating the appearance that he's thinking hard about the idea. Casey starts squirming and becoming jumpy in his seat at the table so Jesse spares him further torture. "Great plan. I'm in."

Casey flashes an all teeth-baring smile at Beca, knowing he's getting what he wants.

Beca smiles warmly at Casey's happiness. "Wow. You guys are something else. You know, most teenagers would take advantage of the time they get when their parents go away for the weekend? But you'd rather go to an a capella competition; definitely a first."

"What do you mean?" Cam asks, intrigued.

"Well, most teenagers would want to throw a party. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so they make it a weekend to remember," she shrugs.

Dean sits up right away. "You sound like you speak from experience Beca?" Dean wiggles his eyebrows to make his point.

Beca smirks and shakes her head no. "Maybe. Maybe not. You'll never know," she says as she stands up from the table.

"Aw c'mon Beca! One story; it's completely innocent," Dean begs as he follows her out of the kitchen, Cam and Casey following them to hear more.

Jesse hears Beca laugh and avoid more of Dean's questions as they head into the living room. He stays seated in the kitchen thinking about what Beca said about the weekend being a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. He knows it's not true for him; his parents go away for conferences or business trips (_being a doctor keeps you busy_) all the time and they've usually been left in a babysitter or family member's care, but he's older now and he knows his parents would agree to leave him in charge. This could be just the opportunity he was looking for: to forget about Beth, his new single status, and a solution to get his parents to focus on something bigger than his breakup. Now, he just needed to start planning. Friday was too soon, but with his brothers and Cam at Beca's competition, he could get away with planning something for Saturday.

If he was going to pull this off in just a few days, he was going to need some help. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and scrolled for the contact he needed. When he found it, he clicked on the mobile number. When the call connected, he put the phone to his ear and listened to the ringing until he heard a familiar voice saying hello.

"Hey Benji! Guess what?!"

"Hey Jesse! What's up?"

"We're throwing a party."

* * *

**AN: Hello again! I'm sorry for going away for so long. Please, **_**no one **_**needs to fear that I'm **_**not**_** going to finish this story. I am! I promise. This summer is a bigger adventure than I bargained for but I have the next couple of chapters mapped out so that "should" make them easier to write and therefore no delays in updates. (Btw, I finally learned how to format the text messages. This is exciting to me! HA!)**

**Also, while I was writing this chapter, I got a lot of ideas and inspiration for scenes or moments that don't really go with the alternate universe of MS so I think I'm going to start writing a series of just one-shots to get them out of my head; it won't get in the way of MS. MS is my top priority. Hopefully, those will be as well received as this story; they might even be original prompts but I could be wrong. I'm behind on my PP fanfic reading.**

**Anyways (sorry for the long AN at the end), if you got to this paragraph then a quick heads up: regionals is going to be included in the next chapter—along with more of the story; it won't be a long chapter of just regionals music—and I'm wondering if you want to read about the performances and song choices or not. If you do, feel free to give me some song requests in your reviews.**

**Thanks for sticking with my story! It means a lot! You're all aca-mazing! :)**


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